dinosaur

[ dahy-nuh-sawr ]

See synonyms for dinosaur on Thesaurus.com

noun

any chiefly terrestrial, herbivorous or carnivorous reptile of the extinct orders Saurischia and Ornithischia, from the Mesozoic Era, certain species of which are the largest known land animals.
something that is unwieldy in size, anachronistically outmoded, or unable to adapt to change: The old steel mill was a dinosaur that cost the company millions to operate.

Origin of dinosaur

<New Latin Dinosaurus (1841), originally a genus name. See dino-, -saur

Words Nearby dinosaur

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use dinosaur in a sentence

Science News, January 30, 1971Through the years paleontologists have evolved a picture of the appearance and habits of various dinosaurs….
50 years ago, scientists made the case for a landlubbing Brontosaurus | Bethany Brookshire | January 29, 2021 | Science News
This is dinosaur country, where ancient oceans left sculpted bluffs and exposed fossils.
In Big Sky country, a pandemic-era fly-fishing getaway | Carl Fincke | January 21, 2021 | Washington Post
We’re only talking about one set of fossilized dinosaur privates, which limits the scope of any mate signalling takeaways, the study explains.
This fossilized butthole gives us a rare window into dinosaur sex | Ellie Shechet | January 20, 2021 | Popular-Science
Walmart is now valued at more than $400 billion and has shed much of its reputation as a digital dinosaur in the business world.
Walmart’s e-commerce chief is leaving to build “a city of the future” | Jason Del Rey | January 15, 2021 | Vox
The super-efficient lungs of many dinosaurs could deliver oxygen to every part of their massive bodies.
Why Birds Can Fly Over Mount Everest - Issue 94: Evolving | Walter Murch | December 30, 2020 | Nautilus

Unlike figure skating, where Russia's Evgeni Plushenko is considered a dinosaur at 31, the age of Olympic curlers is more varied.
Curling: Your New Olympic Addiction, Explained | Brett Singer | February 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
I had the idea to write about her when I was at a small dinosaur museum in Dorset.
How I Write: Tracy Chevalier | Noah Charney | November 13, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
In 1993, adults and kids alike were dressing as Barney the dinosaur.
The Most Popular Halloween Costumes Through the Years: 1985-2013 | Kevin Fallon | October 31, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
The 68-million-year-old remnants of dinosaur feet were pushed upward by tectonic activity.
294 Dinosaurs Once Walked on This Wall in Bolivia | Nina Strochlic | October 24, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
The people behind a prank TV show tricked a man into thinking he was being chased by a dinosaur.
The Office Raptor, Morgan Freeman Defines ‘Twerking,’ & More Viral Videos | The Daily Beast Video | August 31, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Slowly, as though it had seen all it wanted to, the dinosaur turned and went back into the swamp.
The Lost Warship | Robert Moore Williams
Few of these fossil dinosaur skulls are available for comparison, and those differ among themselves.
Dragons of the Air | H. G. Seeley
Before he could pick himself up the dinosaur had swung about and buried all three horns, to the sockets, in his throat and chest.
In the Morning of Time | Charles G. D. Roberts
The advantage of bulk lay altogether with the dinosaur, the three-horned King of all the Lizard kind.
In the Morning of Time | Charles G. D. Roberts
The female dinosaur, the more instantly malignant of the two, hurled herself upon the trunk of the tree.
In the Morning of Time | Charles G. D. Roberts

British Dictionary definitions for dinosaur

dinosaur

/ (ˈdaɪnəˌsɔː) /

noun

any extinct terrestrial reptile of the orders Saurischia and Ornithischia, many of which were of gigantic size and abundant in the Mesozoic era: See also saurischian, ornithischian Compare pterosaur, plesiosaur
a person or thing that is considered to be out of date

Origin of dinosaur

C19: from New Latin dinosaurus, from Greek deinos fearful + sauros lizard

Derived forms of dinosaur

dinosaurian, adjective

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

Scientific definitions for dinosaur

dinosaur

[ dī′nə-sôr′ ]

Any of various extinct reptiles of the orders Saurischia and Ornithischia that flourished during the Mesozoic Era. Dinosaurs were carnivorous or herbivorous, dwelled mostly on land, and varied from the size of a small dog to the largest land animals that ever lived. One group of dinosaurs evolved into birds. See more at ornithischian saurischian. See Note at bird.

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