dinosaur

[dahy-nuh-sawr] /ˈdaɪ nəˌsɔr/

noun

any chiefly terrestrial, herbivorous or carnivorous reptile of the extinct orders Saurischia and Ornithischia, from the Mesozoic Era, certain species of which are the largest known land animals.

something that is unwieldy in size, anachronistically outmoded, or unable to adapt to change:

The old steel mill was a dinosaur that cost the company millions to operate.

Origin

< Neo-Latin Dinosaurus (1841), originally a genus name. See dino-, -saur

Examples from the web for dinosaurs

The print-bound critics are lumbering dinosaurs grousing about their own extinction.
Those who lament the end of journalism's days are dinosaurs who don't see beyond dead-tree news.
But dinosaurs never became a big or truly pervasive cultural icon, and some decades largely ignored them.
They were not some early croc offshoot that filled the niche that would later be occupied by predatory dinosaurs.
But these devices are the dinosaurs of the evolutionary timeline of tablets.
The people-fleeing-from-dinosaurs-on-an-island bit has been done.
The observations could shed new light on how dinosaurs evolved and how their muscles and blood vessels worked.
Even though it was one of the first dinosaurs to be scientifically described, no one has found a complete skeleton of it.
Seen up close, the whooping crane leaves little doubt that birds are descendants of dinosaurs.
See how much you know about dinosaurs by taking this quiz.

British Dictionary definitions for dinosaurs

dinosaur

/ˈdaɪnəˌsɔː/

noun

any extinct terrestrial reptile of the orders Saurischia and Ornithischia, many of which were of gigantic size and abundant in the Mesozoic era See also saurischian, ornithischian Compare pterosaur, plesiosaur

a person or thing that is considered to be out of date

Derived Forms

dinosaurian, adjective

Word Origin

C19: from New Latin dinosaurus, from Greek deinos fearful + sauros lizard

Word Origin and History for dinosaurs

dinosaur

1841, coined in Modern Latin by Sir Richard Owen, from comb. form of Greek deinos "terrible" (see dire) + sauros "lizard" (see -saurus). Figurative sense of "person or institution not adapting to change" is from 1952.

dinosaurs in Science

dinosaur

(dī'nə-sôr')
Any of various extinct reptiles of the orders Saurischia and Ornithischia that flourished during the Mesozoic Era. Dinosaurs were carnivorous or herbivorous, dwelled mostly on land, and varied from the size of a small dog to the largest land animals that ever lived. One group of dinosaurs evolved into birds. See more at ornithischian, saurischian. See Note at bird.

dinosaurs in Culture

dinosaurs definition

Reptiles, now extinct, that were the dominant life form on Earth for many millions of years. The name dinosaur comes from the Greek words for “monstrous lizard.” Dinosaurs became extinct suddenly, about sixty-five million years ago. Scientists now believe that their extinction was caused by the impact of a large asteroid on the Earth.

Note: Some dinosaurs were very large and had small brains — factors that may in part have led to their extinction. The term is often used to refer to something or someone that is antiquated and unable to adapt to change: “The old cavalry generals couldn't adjust to the use of tanks — they became dinosaurs.”

Note: Commonly known dinosaurs include Tyrannosaurus rex, Brontosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Triceratops.

Note: Some scientists believe that modern birds are the descendants of dinosaurs.