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.

Example Sentences

Clarke noted that CT scanning has become an essential method for studying delicate fossils, especially small dinosaurs and early birds trapped in solid rock.

From Science Daily

Even though they were considered small compared to other sauropods, adult Uberabatitans may have reached lengths of up to 26 meters, making them the largest dinosaurs known from Brazil.

From Science Daily

In a room along the corridor, Highbury children are in a movement class with the help of some brightly coloured animated dinosaurs on a screen.

From BBC

As head of Simon Property Group, he defied critics who said that malls were dinosaurs.

From The Wall Street Journal

Researchers in Taiwan combined heat transfer simulations with physical experiments to better understand how these dinosaurs incubated their eggs.

From Science Daily