Dinosaur Meaning
/ˈdaɪnəsɔː(ɹ)/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAny of the animals belonging to the clade Dinosauria, especially those that existed during the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods and are now extinct.
nounThose animals of the clade Dinosauria that existed during the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods and are now extinct.
Sentence Examples
I bought this computer one year ago and it's already a dinosaur.
He stared at the faithful miniature of the dinosaur.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The museum's new exhibit features a huge ____ skeleton from the Jurassic period.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I bought this computer one year ago and it's already a ____.
Word Origin & History
From Ancient Greek δεινός (deinós, “terrible, awesome, mighty, fearfully great”) + σαῦρος (saûros, “lizard, reptile”). Coined as Dinosaur(s) and Dinosauria by paleontologist Richard Owen in 1841/1842.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
""Not a bird, my dear Roxton - not a bird." "A beast?" "No; a reptile - a dinosaur.""
— 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
"‘Dinosaur!’ Denham exploded. ‘By the Power! A dinosaur!’"
— 1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 80:
"[The OS/360 linkage editor] is the culmination of years of development of static overlay technique. Yet it is also the last and finest of the dinosaurs, for it belongs to a system in which multiprogramming is the normal mode and dynamic core allocation the basic assumption."
— 1975, Frederick P. Brooks Jr., The Mythical Man-Month, published 1995:
"The sign in the window said for sale or trade on the last remaining dinosaur Detroit made."
— 1999, Ron Harbin, Aaron Barker, Anthony L. Smith, “What About Now”, performed by Lonestar:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The museum's new exhibit features a huge ____ skeleton from the Jurassic period.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I bought this computer one year ago and it's already a ____.