DINOSAUR

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does dinosaur mean? 

• DINOSAUR (noun)
  The noun DINOSAUR has 1 sense:

1. any of numerous extinct terrestrial reptiles of the Mesozoic era

  Familiarity information: DINOSAUR used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DINOSAUR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of numerous extinct terrestrial reptiles of the Mesozoic era

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("dinosaur" is a kind of...):

archosaur; archosaurian; archosaurian reptile (extinct reptiles including: dinosaurs; plesiosaurs; pterosaurs; ichthyosaurs; thecodonts)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "dinosaur"):

ornithischian; ornithischian dinosaur (herbivorous dinosaur with a pelvis like that of a bird)

iguanodon (massive herbivorous bipedal dinosaur with a long heavy tail; common in Europe and northern Africa; early Cretaceous period)

saurischian; saurischian dinosaur (herbivorous or carnivorous dinosaur having a three-pronged pelvis like that of a crocodile)

diplodocus (a huge quadrupedal herbivore with long neck and tail; of late Jurassic in western North America)

titanosaur; titanosaurian (amphibious quadrupedal herbivorous dinosaur with a long thin neck and whiplike tail; of the Cretaceous mostly in the southern hemisphere)

argentinosaur (huge herbivorous dinosaur of Cretaceous found in Argentina)

ground-shaker; seismosaur (huge herbivorous dinosaur of the Cretaceous found in western North America)

 Context examples 

The excavation process spanned several years, and included researchers suspended by ropes and large-scale mechanical excavators to recover one of the more complete specimens from this part of the sauropod dinosaur family tree.

(New dinosaur with heart-shaped tail offers clues to evolution of Africa's ecosystems, National Science Foundation)

Remnants of the creature's plumage and tissues were well-preserved, allowing researchers to slowly piece together the history and form of the unusual dinosaur,.

(Second Bat-Like Dinosaur Discovered in China, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Titanosaurian sauropods, the group that includes Rukwatitan, were herbivorous dinosaurs known for their iconic large body sizes, long necks and wide stance.

(Paleontologists discover new species of titanosaurian dinosaur in Tanzania, NSF)

The detailed microscopic features of the Rapetosaurus bones revealed patterns similar to those of living animals and made it possible for the scientists to reconstruct the beginning of the dinosaur's post-hatching life.

(Newly discovered baby Titanosaur sheds light on dinosaurs' early lives, NSF)

The discovery is expected to shed light on how the feathers of dinosaurs formed and evolved.

(Dinosaur Tail Found in Myanmar, VOA News)

You had all kinds of new groups of dinosaurs and ocean reptiles getting their start, starting to spread around the world,” said Brusatte.

(Sea Monster Swam Oceans 170 Million Years Ago, Voanews)

His ferocious cry and the horrible energy of his pursuit both assured me that this was surely one of the great flesh-eating dinosaurs, the most terrible beasts which have ever walked this earth.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This time period corresponds to Earth’s Cretaceous period, the heyday of dinosaurs.

(Evidence for Young Lunar Volcanism, NASA)

Closely related to dinosaurs, they disappeared some 66 million years ago, in the geologic period known as Cretaceous, and left no descendants.

(Brazil and China scientists unearth pterosaur eggs with preserved embryos, Agência Brasil)

When the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs slammed into the planet, the impact set wildfires, triggered tsunamis and blasted so much sulfur into the atmosphere that it blocked the sun, which caused the global cooling that ultimately doomed the dinos.

(Rocks at asteroid impact site record first day of dinosaur extinction, National Science Foundation)