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• plural of dinosaur.

dinosaurs

Cultural  

1. Reptiles, now extinct, that were the dominant life form on Earth for many millions of years. The name dinosaur comes from the Greek words for “monstrous lizard.” Dinosaurs became extinct suddenly, about sixty-five million years ago. Scientists now believe that their extinction was caused by the impact of a large asteroid on the Earth.

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Some dinosaurs were very large and had small brains — factors that may in part have led to their extinction. The term is often used to refer to something or someone that is antiquated and unable to adapt to change: “The old cavalry generals couldn't adjust to the use of tanks — they became dinosaurs.”

Some scientists believe that modern birds are the descendants of dinosaurs.

Commonly known dinosaurs include Tyrannosaurus rex, Brontosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Triceratops.

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dinosaurs

New analysis techniques developed in recent years have provided strong evidence that theropods like T. rex, velociraptors and other two-legged dinosaurs were endothermic animals like mammals and birds, rather than cold-blooded, or exothermic, like reptiles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

"Some of these diving birds' feathers seem to have been modern-looking and waterproof, but they also had some smaller, fuzzy, primitive body feathers that we associate with dinosaurs and enantiornithines," says O'Connor.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026

A newly identified dinosaur species discovered during construction work in northeastern Brazil is offering fresh clues about how giant dinosaurs spread across ancient continents.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 2026

"Our local dinosaurs are like missing jigsaw pieces that help establish evolutionary connections, particularly around the Jurassic and Cretaceous period transition, approximately 140 million years ago."

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

Anderson and Witzke no longer had the crater that killed the dinosaurs, "but we still had the largest and most perfectly preserved impact crater in the mainland United States," Anderson said.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson