diplodocus

American  

[dih-plod-uh-kuhs] / dɪˈplɒd ə kəs /

noun

plural

diplodocuses

1. a huge herbivorous dinosaur of the genus Diplodocus, from the Late Jurassic Epoch of western North America, growing to a length of about 87 feet (26.5 meters).

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diplodocus British  

/ dɪˈplɒdəkəs, ˌdɪpləʊˈdəʊkəs /

noun

1. any herbivorous quadrupedal late Jurassic dinosaur of the genus Diplodocus , characterized by a very long neck and tail and a total body length of 27 metres: suborder Sauropoda (sauropods)

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diplodocus Scientific  

/ dĭ-plŏd′ə-kəs /

1. A very large herbivorous dinosaur of the genus Diplodocus of the late Jurassic Period. Diplodocus had a long, slender neck and tail and a small head with peglike teeth, and could grow to nearly 27 m (90 ft) in length. Fossilized skin impressions show that it probably had dermal spines along its back. Diplodocus is one of the longest known sauropod dinosaurs.

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Etymology

Origin of diplodocus

First recorded in 1875–80; from New Latin, equivalent to diplo- diplo- + Greek dokós “beam, bar, shaft”

Compare meaning

How does diplodocus compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• diplodocus vs. brontosaurus

Example Sentences

Dippy the diplodocus first went on display at London's Natural History Museum in 1905, where it was viewed by millions of people.

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2023

Dinos Alive’s 45,000-square-foot exhibit provides ample space for the massive dinosaurs like the 60-foot-long diplodocus, “an incredible dinosaur because bridge designers refer to it as a way to create extra-long-span bridges,” Zaller said.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 7, 2022

The price tag for a triceratops’s skull is $170,000 to $400,000, and a diplodocus is $570,000 to $1.1m.

From The Guardian • Feb. 24, 2019

More than 5 million of those museum-goers passed through the 31,000-square-foot fossil hall last year, gawking at the diplodocus and snapping goofy selfies with a Tyrannosaurus rex replica.

From Washington Times • Oct. 21, 2014

Nearly every dinosaur that the average person can name– stegosaurus, brontosaurus, diplodocus, triceratops–was found by one or the other of them.*

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