Showing results for "dinosaurs"

• 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

"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

The musicians who supplanted the East Village folkies were by that time dinosaurs themselves, having been rendered extinct by pop permutations several times over.

From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026

More than 450 million years ago, long before dinosaurs appeared and before animals or plants had spread widely across dry land, crinoids were already thriving in some of Earth's earliest coral reefs.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026

Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor star in this charmingly silly film about a suburban family suddenly faced with dinosaurs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

It was a little crowded, especially when the little ones added their boats and floating dinosaurs, but it was fun and warm and yelpy and soapy.

From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli