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

These isotopes helped determine whether clay minerals played a role in fossilization and whether those clays came from land, known as detrital clays, or formed directly within the seafloor, known as authigenic clays.

From Science Daily • Jan. 27, 2026

Nawrot studies changes in marine ecosystems that have occurred since the last ice age, a field in which knowing the various factors that help or hinder fossilization is critical.

From Science Daily • May 8, 2024

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

To evoking the instincts of bygone ages, which have not been preserved by fossilization?

From More Hunting Wasps by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander