dinosaur Hear it!

dinosaur definition

di·no·saur (dī′nə sôr′)

noun

  1. any of various extinct, mostly land-dwelling, four-limbed saurischian or ornithischian reptiles of the Mesozoic Era, including some c. 30 m (98.4 ft) long: the flesh-eaters usually walked on their hind limbs, the plant-eaters on all fours
  2. loosely any large, extinct reptile of the Paleozoic or Mesozoic eras
  3. someone or something thought of as being old-fashioned, outmoded, resistant to change, etc.

Etymology: dino- + -saur

Related Forms:

  • dinosaurian di′·no·sau′·rian (-sôr′ē ən) adjective

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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