megalosaur

American

[meg-uh-luh-sawr] / ˈmɛg ə ləˌsɔr /

noun

any gigantic carnivorous dinosaur of the genus Megalosaurus, of the Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods.

megalosaur British

/ ˈmɛɡələʊˌsɔː /

noun

any very large Jurassic or Cretaceous bipedal carnivorous dinosaur of the genus Megalosaurus, common in Europe: suborder Theropoda (theropods)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

megalosaurian adjective

Etymology

Origin of megalosaur

From the New Latin word Megalosaurus, dating back to 1835–45. See megalo-, -saur

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.

The dinosaurs included carnivorous megalosaurs - ancestors of Tyrannosaurus rex - and long necked herbivores that were up to three times bigger in size than an elephant.

From BBC

Paleontologists believe it was actually from a dinosaur, specifically a megalosaur.

From Washington Post

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023