dinosaur

noun di·no·saur \ ˈdī-nə-ˌsȯr \

Updated on: 9 May 2018

1 : any of a group (Dinosauria) of extinct often very large chiefly terrestrial carnivorous or herbivorous reptiles of the Mesozoic era

2 : any of various large extinct reptiles (such as ichthyosaurs) other than the true dinosaurs

3 : one that is impractically large, out-of-date, or obsolete

The factory is now a rusting dinosaur.

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dinosaurian

play \ˌdī-nə-ˈsȯr-ē-ən\ adjective

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dinosauric

play \-ˈsȯr-ik\ adjective

See dinosaur defined for English-language learners

See dinosaur defined for kids

Examples of dinosaur in a Sentence

The old factory is now a rusting dinosaur.
The character she plays is a dinosaur—a former beauty queen who is living in the past.

Recent Examples of dinosaur from the Web

With two games left in the season, Hamburg, whose mascot is a dinosaur representing its longevity, is in 17th place, next to last, two points behind the 16th team.

— tim bannon, chicagotribune.com, "German soccer team's clock, counterpart to Cubs' 'Eamus Catuli' sign, could strike 0:00," 3 May 2018
As every schoolchild now knows, birds are dinosaurs, linked to their extinct relatives by feathers and anatomy.

— gretchen vogel, Science | AAAS, "Fossils reveal how ancient birds got their beaks," 2 May 2018
The animated fantasy tells the story of a group of young dinosaurs looking to reunite with their families.

— chris kaltenbach, baltimoresun.com, "'The Land Before Time' to introduce kid-geared Generation Parkway series," 30 Apr. 2018
But then Riley is a dinosaur in sports, a leader who wants to win every year out.

— dave hyde, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Hyde: The Heat are facing a holy war against Philadelphia | Commentary," 7 Apr. 2018
His Grizzlies and Nets teams played like dinosaurs.

— rob mahoney, SI.com, "Breakaway: Wayne Ellington's Journey From Indistinguishable to Indispensable," 5 Apr. 2018
The Land Cruiser is a retro-modern dinosaur but forever an endearing family member.

— mark maynard, sandiegouniontribune.com, "2018 Toyota Land Cruiser: An heirloom original," 30 Mar. 2018
And tanks are tough, but they are not designed to withstand the crushing force of a 300 foot tall dinosaur stomping on them.

— joe pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "How the Pentagon Could Destroy All Monsters," 22 Mar. 2018
The show includes fossils, footprints, bones, 3D dinosaur models and a game show.

— susan dunne, courant.com, "'Jurassic Giants' Invade Mystic Aquarium For Rest Of 2018," 6 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dinosaur.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of dinosaur

New Latin Dinosaurus, genus name, from Greek deinos terrifying + sauros lizard — more at dire

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1841

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

dinosaur Synonyms

DINOSAUR Defined for English Language Learners

dinosaur

noun

: one of many reptiles that lived on Earth millions of years ago
: someone or something that is no longer useful or current : an obsolete or out-of-date person or thing