dinosaur Definition
di·no·saur (dī′nə sôr′)
noun
- 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
- loosely any large, extinct reptile of the Paleozoic or Mesozoic eras
- someone or something thought of as being old-fashioned, outmoded, resistant to change, etc.
dinosaur Related Forms
di′·no·sau′·rian (-sôr′ē ən) adjective
dinosaur Usage Examples
Converse of object
- meat-eating: Scientists who study meat-eating dinosaurs, known as theropods, have noted their similarity to living birds.
- them: Theme Party A dinosaur themed birthday party is just what those tiny tearaways need to expend all that excess energy.
- kill: I'm waiting up to watch a potentially interesting episode of Horizon, about what killed the dinosaurs.
- discover: Can you solve the hidden clues to find its nest and discover the dinosaur?
Adjective modifier
- bipedal: Most bipedal dinosaurs had a leg length or hip height approximately four times the length of their footprint.
- carnivorous: Fossil remains of a herbivorous and carnivorous dinosaur may be seen at park headquarters at Hua Phu Chon Reservoir.
- non-avian: Pterosaurs and non-avian dinosaurs had no obvious adaptations for burrowing or swimming and became extinct.
- duck-billed: Other dinosaurs, particularly the duck-billed dinosaurs, give us other clues.
- animatronic: Explore a scene straight from Jurassic times with the most lifelike animatronic dinosaurs ever seen.
- predatory: Question Bearing in mind all the caveats in the previous question, what was the biggest predatory dinosaur?
Modifies a noun
- footprint: The photo shows a dinosaur footprint at Hastings, UK.
- skeleton: Little old lady: How old is that dinosaur skeleton?
- ludo: We played lots of games - dinosaur ludo, uno and set.
- fossil: See the quarry where many dinosaur fossils were unearthed at the Dinosaur National Monument.
- extinction: Could connect it with stuff about dinosaur extinctions, pictures of moons and planets, the radio telescope they built in a crater... .
- bone: Most dinosaur bones are found on their own, broken into small pieces.
Noun used with modifier
- theropod: The Liaoning fauna has given us a unique glimpse into a world where a variety of feathery, theropod dinosaurs lived side by side.
- sauropod: The huge pillar like legs were needed to support the enormous body weight of the sauropod dinosaurs.
- inflatable: I received my inflatable dinosaur and other goodies this morning, I wasn't expecting them till the middle of next week.
- baby: A baby dinosaur, just hatched, would follow in the footsteps of its parent, perhaps only a short distance from the nest.
Browse dictionary entries near dinosaur
- ‹ dinoflagellate
- ‹ dino-
- ‹ dino
- ‹ dinnerware
- ‹ dinnertime
- ‹ dinner theater
- ‹ dinner ring
- ‹ dinner jacket
- ‹ dinner
- ‹ dinky
- dinothere ›
- dint ›
- Dinwiddie ›
- dioc ›
- diocesan ›
- diocese ›
- Diocletian ›
- diode ›
- diode laser ›
- dioecious ›

