tyrannosaur

[ ti-ran-uh-sawr, tahy- ]

noun

1. a large, carnivorous dinosaur, Tyrannosaurus rex, from the Late Cretaceous Epoch of North America, that walked erect on its hind feet.

tyrannosaur

/ tĭ-răn′ə-sôr′ /

1. Any of various very large carnivorous dinosaurs of the genus Tyrannosaurus and related genera of the Cretaceous Period. Tyrannosaurs had very small forelimbs and a large head with sharp teeth. They walked on two legs, probably bent forward with their long tail stretched out as a counterbalance. Tyrannosaurs were theropods and probably distantly related to birds. The largest species, T. rex, grew to lengths of 14.3 m (47 ft) or more and may have been the largest land predator that ever lived.

Word History and Origins

Origin of tyrannosaur¹

< New Latin Tyrannosaurus (1905), equivalent to Greek tyranno- (combining form representing týrannos tyrant ) + saûros -saur

Example Sentences

Olivia Colman delivers a devastating performance as an abuse victim in the indie film Tyrannosaur.

From The Daily Beast

The largest of these grew to be 30 feet long and 15 to 20 feet high, comparable, therefore, to the tyrannosaur in size.

From Project Gutenberg

It is somewhat older than the Tyrannosaur although still of the late Cretacic period, and may have been ancestral to it.

From Project Gutenberg

Kirk grimaced and DeVore saw a faint image of a tyrannosaur, which reared up, jaws agape.

From Project Gutenberg