sauropod

American  

[sawr-uh-pod] / ˈsɔr əˌpɒd /

noun

1. any herbivorous dinosaur of the suborder Sauropoda, from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, having a small head, long neck and tail, and five-toed limbs: the largest known land animal.

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adjective

1. belonging or pertaining to the sauropods.

sauropod British  

/ ˈsɔːrəˌpɒd, sɔːˈrɒpədəs /

noun

1. any herbivorous quadrupedal saurischian dinosaur of the suborder Sauropoda, of Jurassic and Cretaceous times, including the brontosaurus, diplodocus, and titanosaurs. They had small heads and long necks and tails and were partly amphibious

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sauropod Scientific  

/ sôr′ə-pŏd′ /

1. One of the two types of saurischian dinosaurs, widespread during the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods. Sauropods were plant-eaters and often grew to tremendous size, having a stout body with thick legs, long slender necks with a small head, and long tails. Sauropods included the apatosaurus (brontosaurus) and brachiosaurus.

2. Compare theropod

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Other Word Forms

• sauropodous adjective

Etymology

Origin of sauropod

1890–95; < New Latin Sauropoda suborder name < Greek saûro ( s ) lizard + -poda -poda; -pod

Example Sentences

To establish this miserliness of spirit, the present day scenes start with a Brooklyn traffic jam caused by an escaped sauropod laying collapsed and dying on the side of the road.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2025

Just days after the sauropod statue was installed in Taupō Sculpture Park, in the scenic centre of New Zealand's North Island, Boom Boom has already prompted heated debate among locals.

From BBC • May 20, 2025

In a diorama pitting the carnivorous Acrocanthosaurus against the massive plant-eating Astrodon, it is the larger sauropod that triumphs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2025

Bites were detected on sauropod bones belonging to Camarasaurus, Galeamopus and Suuwassea as well as bones probably but not definitively belonging to Diplodocus, Apatosaurus and Brachiosaurus.

From Reuters • Nov. 16, 2023

Or the sauropod might decide to dive beneath the surface, and well, that’d be that.

From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older