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

Under his own studio, he became best known for the dinosaurs in Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park,” using computer generation to animate the prehistoric creatures.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 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

The preserved tissues date back more than 450 million years, making them far older than the earliest dinosaurs.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026

“Oh, aye. She used to come to the house. Did you ever see that movie about dinosaurs? The one with the velociraptor?”

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer