dinosaur

[dahy-nuh-sawr]

SEE MORE 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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for dinosaur

antiquated, archaic, outmoded, out-of-date, obsolete, antique, bent, tired, superseded, dated, superannuated, out, outworn, fossilized, ancient, antediluvian, bygone, dead, discarded, dusty

Examples from the Web for dinosaur

Contemporary Examples of dinosaur

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
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 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 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
This dinosaur family, once common in China, eventually evolved into the largest creatures to ever walk the Earth.
Cool News for Dinosaur Nerds (Like Me!)
Justin Green
April 11, 2013

Historical Examples of dinosaur

I don't ever want to see or taste a dinosaur steak again, he thought.
Starman's Quest
Robert Silverberg
The only complete skeleton of a dinosaur ever found was taken out in 1909.
The Book of the National Parks
Robert Sterling Yard
But they did not meet fairly, head to head, as the Dinosaur intended.
In the Morning of Time
Charles G. D. Roberts
The teeth of this horned Dinosaur resemble those of the Megalosaur.
Extinct Monsters
H. N. Hutchinson
Altogether, Triceratops is very different to any other Dinosaur.
Extinct Monsters
H. N. Hutchinson

British Dictionary definitions for dinosaur

dinosaur

noun

any extinct terrestrial reptile of the orders Saurischia and Ornithischia, many of which were of gigantic size and abundant in the Mesozoic eraSee also saurischian, ornithischian Compare pterosaur, plesiosaur

a person or thing that is considered to be out of date

Derived Formsdinosaurian, adjective

Word Origin for dinosaur

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

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

Word Origin and History for dinosaur

1841, coined in Modern Latin by Sir Richard Owen, from comb. form of Greek deinos "terrible" (see dire) + sauros "lizard" (see -saurus). Figurative sense of "person or institution not adapting to change" is from 1952.

dinosaur in Science

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.