fossilization

American  

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

noun

• fossilizations
  plural

1. the process of fossilizing.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• defossilization
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• fossilizations
  plural

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

See Examples For:

fossilization

It also opens new possibilities for studying extinct animals at the molecular level, potentially giving scientists access to biological information that was once assumed to have vanished during fossilization.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

For decades, scientists generally assumed that fossilization destroyed the original organic molecules once present in bones, teeth, and other tissues.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

"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

These fossils are exceptionally rare because they preserved not only the feathers but also their original coloration, thanks to unique fossilization conditions in the region.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 18, 2026

Till men began to wonder at the stratification of rocks, and the fossilization of shells, there was no science of Geology. 

From Westminster Sermons with a Preface by Charles Kingsley