dinosaur

[dahy-nuh-sawr]

noun

1. 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.

2. 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.

dinosaur

/ ˈdaɪnəˌsɔː /

noun

1. 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

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 a person or thing that is considered to be out of date

Other Word Forms

• dinosaurian adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dinosaur¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of dinosaur¹

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

Example Sentences

And it’s not just cartoonists who are losing their jobs; legacy print media has become a dinosaur in the digital age, when news is presented in a constant stream, not a cycle.

From Salon

She did her song from the dinosaur movie “Land Before Time.”

From Los Angeles Times

"It is one of the strangest dinosaurs ever discovered," said Prof Butler.

From BBC

A new species of dinosaur that had an "eye-catching sail" along its back has been named after sailor Dame Ellen MacArthur.

From BBC

"Boys like either dinosaurs or airplanes," he said.

From BBC

Related Words

• antiquated 
• archaic 
• out-of-date 
• outmoded