fossil

1 of 2

adjective

fos·​sil ˈfä-səl 

1

: preserved from a past geologic age

fossil plants

fossil water in an underground reservoir

2

: being or resembling a fossil

3

: of or relating to fossil fuel

fossil energy sources

fossil

2 of 2

noun

1

: a remnant, impression, or trace of an organism of past geologic ages that has been preserved in the earth's crust compare living fossil

2

a

: a person whose views are outmoded : fogy

b

: something (such as a theory) that has become rigidly fixed

3

: an old word or word element preserved only by idiom (such as fro in to and fro)

Did you know?

A remnant, impression, or trace of an animal or plant of a past geologic age that has been preserved in the earth’s crust is called a fossil. Data from fossils are the primary source of information about the history of life on the earth. Only a small fraction of ancient organisms are preserved as fossils, and usually only organisms that have a solid skeleton or shell. Unaltered hard parts, such as the shells of clams, are relatively common in sedimentary rocks. The embedding of insects in amber and the preservation of mammoths in ice are rare but striking examples of the fossil preservation of soft tissues. Traces of organisms such as tracks and trails may also be preserved.

Synonyms

Noun

• antediluvian
• Colonel Blimp
• dodo
• fogy
• fogey
• fud
• fuddy-duddy
• mossback
• reactionary
• stick-in-the-mud
• stuffed shirt

Examples of fossil in a Sentence

Noun

some old fossil who thinks that a boy and a girl shouldn't be together unsupervised until they are engaged

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Most of the bones discovered have been much smaller fragments, Perillo said, but their remains disappear completely from the fossil record at the end of the Triassic period, about 201 million years ago. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024

Human Ancestors Must Have Co-Existed With Dinosaurs Preserving the Fossil Record The study stresses the importance of measures that would help preserve the outcrops so that the fossil record in the area can be maintained. —Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 9 Apr. 2024

The find is helping to fill the gaps in the evolutionary history of freshwater dolphins, which are incredibly rare in the fossil record. —Ashley Strickland, CNN, 30 Mar. 2024

Volvo Penta says that their diesel engines have been compatible with HVO since 2016, seeing it as a stable, high-quality fuel suitable for marine power systems that can lower fossil CO2 emissions by up to 90 percent, depending on the feedstock. —Kathleen Turner, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024

Set in a form of fossil resin called copal, the specimen represents a new species named Myrmarachne colombiana, and is the first ant-mimicking spider from Colombia, whether fossilized or non-fossilized. —Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 28 Mar. 2024

In fact, fossil smuggling out of Brazil remains a vexing problem for authorities. —Isaac Schultz / Gizmodo, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024

Day trips to Cape Lookout and Aurora, known for fossil digging and the Aurora Fossil Museum, are a lot of fun, and Captain’s Quarters Inn and Granville Queen Inn offer both historic and tranquil lodging options. —Trudy Haywood Saunders, Travel + Leisure, 26 Mar. 2024

Excavations revealed fossil mammoth teeth and ostrich eggshells, as well as bones with cut marks, writes New Scientist’s Michael Le Page. —Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Mar. 2024

Noun

An 11-year-old found the fossil of a gigantic ocean reptile. —Morgan Haefner, Quartz, 18 Apr. 2024

The amount of sediment settled behind the world’s thousands of big dams would cover all of California to a depth of five meters, and such sediments are full of distinctive markers, like pesticide residues, metals, microplastics and the fossils of invasive species. —Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Apr. 2024

At the time, the ideal museum contained one of every species, mineral, fossil and specimen on planet Earth, like a far more exacting Noah’s Ark. —Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024

About the impact of the unearthing of the dinosaurs and other fossils, of Darwinian evolution, of geology’s discovery of deep time. —William Deresiewicz, The Atlantic, 2 Apr. 2024

Visitors can see paleontologists work on a variety of fossils and artifacts at the park’s Museum Demonstration Lab or ask park rangers about Petrified Forest’s more modern history. —Eve Chen, USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2024

By piecing together clues from the fossils and artifacts found at the site, along with geological and molecular analysis, the team began to understand how the humans living there forged ahead despite the likely climate shift that the volcanic cataclysm triggered. —Katie Hunt, CNN, 21 Mar. 2024

When described in 2022, large turtles had been found in fossils deposits in North America, but this was the biggest European specimen. —Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 3 Apr. 2024

Biodiesel is a renewable alternative to fossil fuelsused in the EU’s transport sector. —Hanna Ziady, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

earlier, "dug from the earth, preserved in the ground," borrowed from French & Latin; French fossile, borrowed from Latin fossilis "obtained by digging," from fodiō, fodere "to prod, jab, dig, remove by digging" (going back to Indo-European *b^hed^h-, *b^hod^h- "jab, dig," whence also Lithuanian bedù, bèsti "to stick, dig," Old Church Slavic bodǫ, bosti "to prick, stab," Hittite paddai "digs") + -tilis "produced by, characterized by (the action of the verb)"

Noun

derivative of fossil entry 1, or borrowed directly from Latin fossilis

First Known Use

Adjective

1665, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1736, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing fossil

• fossil fuel
• index fossil
• living fossil
• trace fossil

Kids Definition

fossil

1 of 2 adjective

fos·​sil ˈfäs-əl 

: being or resembling a fossil

fossil

2 of 2 noun

1

: a trace or print or the remains of a plant or animal of a past age preserved in earth or rock

2

a

: a person whose ideas are out-of-date

b

: something that has become fixed and cannot be changed