ankylosaur

noun

an·​ky·​lo·​saur ˈaŋ-kə-lō-ˌsȯr 

: any of a suborder (Ankylosauria) of herbivorous Cretaceous ornithiscian dinosaurs having a long low-lying thickset body covered dorsally with bony plates

Examples of ankylosaur in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

What is surprising to us is that the most elaborate ankylosaur armor of all time is present in the oldest member of the group. —CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2025

Because the new Spicomellus remains show extremely clearly that the armor of ankylosaurs got less elaborate over time. —ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2025

Millions of years ago, bony osteoderms evolved into the famous armored plates and spines of stegosaurs and ankylosaurs, as Imma Perfetto reports for Cosmos. —Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 July 2025

And while bonebeds with ankylosaurs, hadrosaurs, and sauropods have hinted at herd behavior, so, too, have deposited dino tracks, suggesting some dinosaurs had a distinct social streak. —Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 28 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin ankylosaur-, base of the taxa Ankylosaurus ankylosaurus, Ankylosauridae (from Anykylosaurus + -idae -idae), and Ankylosauria (from Ankylosaurus + -ia -ia entry 2)

First Known Use

1908, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ankylosaur

• conquistador
• forevermore
• hereinbefore
• kinetochore
• kwashiorkor
• abhor
• abor
• adore
• afore
• ardour
• ashore
• backdoor

Kids Definition

ankylosaur

noun

an·​ky·​lo·​saur ˈaŋ-kə-lō-ˌsȯr 

: any of several plant-eating dinosaurs of the Cretaceous period having a thickset body with bony plates covering the back