dinosaur

[dahy-nuh-sawr]

noun

1. 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.

2. 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.

dinosaur

/ ˈdaɪnəˌsɔː /

noun

1. 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

2. a person or thing that is considered to be out of date

Other Word Forms

• dinosaurian adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dinosaur¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of dinosaur¹

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

Example Sentences

Their ability to survive and spread in the aftermath of the dinosaur extinction makes them a key group for understanding how reptiles adapted during a period of dramatic environmental change.

Read more on Science Daily

The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth was 100 million megatons and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, he says, we could see CMEs with energy content equal to even more than that.

Read more on BBC

Early forms likely slipped through the undergrowth beneath the feet of dinosaurs and succeeded by evolving a variety of strategies for capturing prey.

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With a combination of advanced imaging methods, the scientists were able to recreate what the dinosaur would have looked like in life.

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This includes a "dinosaur tartare" meant to recreate the taste of extinct reptiles.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• antiquated 
• archaic 
• out-of-date 
• outmoded