dinosaurs

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.

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

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.

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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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The researchers propose that after the dinosaurs died, their bodies dried in the sun before being rapidly buried in sudden flash floods.

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There have been five mass species extinctions in Earth’s past—the most well known, of course, being that of the dinosaurs.

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The jawbone looked reptilian but had teeth resembling those of dinosaurs.

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