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ankylosaur

American  
[ang-kuh-loh-sawr] / ˈæŋ kə loʊˌsɔr /

noun

  1. any of several herbivorous dinosaurs of the suborder Ankylosauria, from the Cretaceous Period, having the body covered with thick, bony plates.


ankylosaur British  
/ ˈæŋkɪləʊˌsɔː /

noun

  1. any of various quadrupedal herbivorous ornithischian dinosaurs constituting the suborder Ankylosauria, which were most abundant in upper Cretaceous times and had a very heavily armoured tanklike body

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ankylosaur

First recorded in 1905–10, ankylosaur is from the New Latin word Ankylosauria name of the suborder. See ancylo-, -saur, -ia

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

One specimen even shows signs that it had only recently hatched, making it the youngest known ankylosaur discovered so far.

From Science Daily Apr. 21, 2026

Fairy-tale-like, just weeks earlier, local kids had stumbled into a discovery of ankylosaur tracks, so Tumbler Ridge rebranded to take advantage of its grand mountain views and spectacular surroundings.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 16, 2026

Though the new dinosaur bears some similarities to the last ankylosaur discovered on the island - called Polacanthus foxii - scientists do not think the two species were very closely related.

From BBC Jun. 15, 2023

The exquisitely preserved ankylosaur skeleton, which sports a full suit of armor plates called osteoderms, was accidentally unearthed in 2014 by commercial fossil hunters excavating a nearby tyrannosaur in Montana’s Judith River Formation.

From New York Times Dec. 6, 2022

They included two unique footprints: one made by an ankylosaur, an armored plant-eating dinosaur, and the other by a carnivorous theropod.

From Washington Post Oct. 1, 2022

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