fossilize

verb

fos·​sil·​ize ˈfä-sə-ˌlīz 

fossilized; fossilizing

transitive verb

1

: to convert into a fossil

2

: to make outmoded, rigid, or fixed

intransitive verb

: to become changed into a fossil

fossilization

ˌfä-sə-lə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

Examples of fossilize in a Sentence

The mud helped to preserve and fossilize the wood.

Recent Examples on the Web

One day Dave whacked the laurel hedge down to sturdy stumps, like dinosaurs fossilized midstride. —Murr Brewster, Christian Science Monitor, 16 Apr. 2025

An unusual chemical alchemy may have been responsible for the unique way Sue was fossilized, the researchers hypothesized. —Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 31 Mar. 2025

Thirty years later, that warning has come true: Dinosaurs, both fossilized and fictional, are firmly in the hands of the highest bidder. —Catherine Baab-Muguira, Quartz, 3 Apr. 2025

The fossil, dated to about 444 million years ago, contained a new species of arthropod that fossilized inside-out, according to a paper published in the journal Palaeontology last week. —Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 31 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1794, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for fossilize

• advertise
• aggrandize
• agonize
• alibis
• alkalies
• alkalis
• amortize
• amplifies
• analyse
• analyze
• anywise
• authorize

Kids Definition

fossilize

verb

fos·​sil·​ize ˈfäs-ə-ˌlīz 

fossilized; fossilizing

: to change or become changed into a fossil

fossilization

ˌfäs-ə-lə-ˈzā-shən 

noun