THEROPOD

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does theropod mean? 

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

1. any of numerous carnivorous dinosaurs of the Triassic to Cretaceous with short forelimbs that walked or ran on strong hind legs

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

 Dictionary entry details 

• THEROPOD (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of numerous carnivorous dinosaurs of the Triassic to Cretaceous with short forelimbs that walked or ran on strong hind legs

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

bird-footed dinosaur; theropod; theropod dinosaur

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

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

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

ceratosaur; ceratosaurus (primitive medium-sized theropod; swift-running bipedal carnivorous dinosaur having grasping hands with sharp claws and a short horn between the nostrils; Jurassic in North America)

carnosaur (large carnivorous bipedal dinosaur having huge claws)

tyrannosaur; tyrannosaurus; Tyrannosaurus rex (large carnivorous bipedal dinosaur having enormous teeth with knifelike serrations; may have been a scavenger rather than an active predator; later Cretaceous period in North America)

allosaur; allosaurus (late Jurassic carnivorous dinosaur; similar to but somewhat smaller than tyrannosaurus)

compsognathus (very small bipedal carnivorous dinosaur of the late Jurassic in Bavaria)

herrerasaur; herrerasaurus (a kind of theropod dinosaur found in Argentina)

eoraptor (a theropod dinosaur of the genus Eoraptor)

megalosaur; megalosaurus (gigantic carnivorous bipedal dinosaur of the Jurassic or early Cretaceous in Europe)

ornithomimid (lightly built medium-sized dinosaur having extremely long limbs and necks with small heads and big brains and large eyes)

maniraptor (advanced carnivorous theropod)

Holonyms ("theropod" is a member of...):

suborder Theropoda; Theropoda (carnivorous saurischian dinosaurs with short forelimbs; Jurassic and Cretaceous)

 Context examples 

Although Caudipteryx is in the same evolutionary group as birds and other theropods, it lived millions of years after flying dinosaurs, such as Archaeopteryx, were already in the air.

(Scientific study suggests dinosaurs flapped their wings as they ran, Wikinews)

He encouraged the Dexu Institute of Palaeontology to purchase the sample, after which its bone structure was carefully studied to confirm that it was not a bird but the tail of a theropod, likely juvenile; probably a coelurosaur, which is related to the Tyrannosaurus rex.

(Scientists find dinosaur feathers preserved in amber, Wikinews)

While current consensus among scientists says birds as we understand them evolved from theropod dinosaurs, there are several competing ideas about how exactly flight developed in these vertebrates.

(Scientific study suggests dinosaurs flapped their wings as they ran, Wikinews)