dinosaur

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noun di·no·saur \ ˈdī-nə-ˌsȯr \

Definition of dinosaur

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3 :one that is impractically large, out-of-date, or obsolete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

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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

There is a clear answer to all of these questions — Edward, Peeta, Jess and, of course, your favorite dinosaur-lover Ross Geller.

— madison feller, Cosmopolitan, "Jennifer Aniston Officially SHUT DOWN Your Rachel and Joey Fantasies," 22 Aug. 2017
Titled Jurassic World Evolution, Frontier’s creating a build-your-own-dinosaur-theme-park game that looks quite a bit like Planet Coaster crossed with prehistoric Zoo Tycoon.

— hayden dingman, PCWorld, "Jurassic World Evolution theme park sim revealed by Planet Coaster's developer," 21 Aug. 2017
Tucked away in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, about 50 miles north of Eureka, the emerald canyon served as a setting in Steven Spielberg’s 1997 dinosaur blockbuster.

— alison bowen, chicagotribune.com, "Finding the 'Lost World' of Jurassic Park on Fern Canyon hike," 18 Aug. 2017
Dominic was last seen wearing a gray shirt with dinosaurs and green shorts.

— elizabeth koh, miamiherald, "Police found a nanny last seen with a missing boy – but his location is still unknown," 11 Aug. 2017
What sort of organism?: An oviraptorosaurian dinosaur.

— brian switek, Scientific American Blog Network, "Paleo Profile: The Crested Thief," 4 Aug. 2017
Scientists have always assumed that massive dinosaurs would be equally shielded from predators.

— giorgia guglielmi, Science | AAAS, "Did this big dino use camouflage to hide from predators?," 3 Aug. 2017
This brushlike plant is of a time before there were mammals, before there were dinosaurs, before there even were flowering plants.

— matt campbell, kansascity, "Plant fossil found at Park University is 306 million years old and a new species," 19 July 2017
Theoretically, the formula should also work on extinct animals as well, and could give researchers new insights into dinosaur speeds.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "What Is the Key to Predict Animal Speed?," 19 July 2017

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

See Words from the same year

dinosaur Synonyms

Synonyms

has–been, relic

Antonyms

diminutive, dwarf, half-pint, midget, mite, peewee, pygmy (also pigmy), runt, shrimp

Related Words

dodo, fogy (also fogey), fossil, old-timer; fuddy-duddy, mossback, stick-in-the-mud, stodge [British], troglodyte; throwback

Near Antonyms

comer, rising star, up-and-comer

DINOSAUR Defined for English Language Learners

dinosaur

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noun

Definition of dinosaur for English Language Learners

: 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