triceratops

[ trahy-ser-uh-tops ]

noun

any of various dinosaurs of the genus Triceratops, of the late Cretaceous Period, having a bony crest on the neck, a long horn over each eye, and a shorter horn on the nose.

Origin of triceratops

First recorded in 1890–95; from New Latin, from Greek trikérat(os) “three-horned” + ṓps “face, eye”; see origin at tri-, cerat-, eye

Words Nearby triceratops

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use triceratops in a sentence

The Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, for instance, clamps its jaws around a triceratops.
Cool Jobs: Bringing paleontology to the people | Beth Geiger | June 9, 2022 | Science News For Students
Instead of launching me into a downward existential spiral, the idea of being wrong about history, whether it be the symbolism of the pyramids or the color of triceratops, thrilled me.
One Good Thing: The 1970s children’s book that envisions an America overrun by trash | Dina Gachman | November 16, 2021 | Vox
triceratops and Allosaurus likely had fast- and slow-twitch muscles like people and other animals do.
What would a dinosaur taste like? | John Kennedy | September 16, 2021 | Popular-Science
We flew over there to begin filming and I remember seeing the triceratops and being absolutely blown away.
‘Jurassic Park’ Turns 20: Film Memories With Ariana Richards | Anna Klassen | April 6, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
I ponder the selection (pterodactyl, triceratops, etc) before settling on a T-Rex.
Macaulay Culkin’s Life After Fame | Ramin Setoodeh | June 19, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST

But triceratops had a three-horned face, one horn over each eye to protect it in battle and one over the nose.
Unexplored! | Allen Chaffee
Altogether, triceratops is very different to any other Dinosaur.
Extinct Monsters | H. N. Hutchinson
We might have showed him the work of the mound-builders, or the bones of the triceratops, they are older yet.
The home | Charlotte Perkins Gilman
After that the triceratops prorsus was at their mercy, and they quickly put an end to its suffering.
A Journey in Other Worlds | John Jacob Astor
triceratops exceeded the largest rhinoceroses in bulk, equalling a fairly large elephant, but with much shorter legs.
Dinosaurs | William Diller Matthew

British Dictionary definitions for triceratops

triceratops

/ (traɪˈsɛrəˌtɒps) /

noun

any rhinoceros-like herbivorous dinosaur of the ornithischian genus Triceratops, of Cretaceous times, having a heavily armoured neck and three horns on the skull

Origin of triceratops

C19: from New Latin, from tri- + Greek kerat-, keras horn + ōps eye

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

Scientific definitions for triceratops

triceratops

[ trī-sĕr′ə-tŏps′ ]

A large herbivorous dinosaur of the genus Triceratops of the late Cretaceous Period, measuring up to 7.6 m (25 ft) in length. Triceratops had a squat, tanklike body, a beaklike mouth with a short horn over it, and a long horn over each eye. The back of its neck was covered with a wide, bony plate.

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