fossilize
Americanverb (used with object)
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Geology. to convert into a fossil; replace organic with mineral substances in the remains of an organism.
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to change as if into mere lifeless remains or traces of the past.
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to make rigidly antiquated.
Time has fossilized such methods.
verb (used without object)
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to become a fossil or like a fossil.
The plant fossilized in comparatively recent geologic time.
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Linguistics. (of a linguistic form, feature, rule, etc.) to become permanently established in the interlanguage of a second-language learner in a form that is deviant from the target-language norm and that continues to appear in performance regardless of further exposure to the target language.
verb
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to convert or be converted into a fossil
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to become or cause to become antiquated or inflexible
Other Word Forms
- fossilizable adjective
- fossilization noun
- semifossilized adjective
- unfossilized adjective
Etymology
Origin of fossilize
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These conditions usually erase delicate biological remains long before they can fossilize.
From Science Daily
Her fossilized sea urchin, from a beach on the Red Sea, “responds by radiating its own inner joy at being found and loved too,” whispering: “We are two cyclical beings, each with their own story.”
The researchers then applied this method to fossilized animal bones dating from 1.3 million to 3 million years ago.
From Science Daily
Scientists have uncovered more than 30,000 fossilized teeth, bones, and other remains on the remote Arctic island of Spitsbergen.
From Science Daily
Instead of focusing on surrounding minerals or skeletal remains, Dr. Tucker and his colleagues turned their attention to fossilized dinosaur eggshells.
From Science Daily
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
