fossilization

American  

[fahs-uh-liz-ay-shuhn, -lahyz-] / ˌfɑs ə lɪzˈeɪ ʃən, -laɪz- /

noun

plural

fossilizations

1. the process of fossilizing.

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Other Word Forms

• defossilization
  noun

Explanation

Fossilization is the process of an animal or plant becoming preserved in a hard, petrified form. Fossilization often results in the impression of an organism being left in a rock. When a leaf or an animal skeleton becomes a fossil, that's fossilization. Fossils are the preserved remains of a prehistoric creature — fossilization takes a very long time, so if you see a fossil, you know it's at least 10,000 years old. Originally, fossil was defined as "anything that's dug up," from the Latin fossilis, "dug up." By the 18th century, both fossil and fossilization specifically referred to "the geological remains of a plant or animal."

Example Sentences

"If this was true, they wouldn't survive fossilization except under very special circumstances where rapid fossilization outcompeted degradation."

From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2026

Based on this evidence, the researchers concluded that the animal had partially decomposed before fossilization, altering its appearance and leading to the earlier misidentification.

From Science Daily • Apr. 7, 2026

Given the rarity of fossilization for hominin remains and how few have been found, we might never catch a glimpse of our immediate direct ancestor, Wood says.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 3, 2024

Ms. Losso was analyzing the trilobites’ appendages when she came across a curled Ceraurus trilobite with a set of plates called sternites lining its stomach that rarely survives fossilization.

From New York Times • Dec. 19, 2023

A large proportion of aquatic creatures have structures which do not admit of fossilization; while of the rest, the great majority are destroyed, when dead, by various kinds of scavengers.

From Essays: Scientific, Political, & Speculative, Vol. I by Spencer, Herbert