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dinosaurs

 - 3 dictionary results

di⋅no⋅saur

[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.

Origin:
< NL Dinosaurus (1841), orig. a genus name. See dino-, -saur
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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di·no·saur   (dī'nə-sôr')   
n.  
  1. Any of various extinct, often gigantic, carnivorous or herbivorous reptiles of the orders Saurischia and Ornithischia that were chiefly terrestrial and existed during the Mesozoic Era.

  2. A relic of the past: "living dinosaurs of the world of vegetation" (John Olmsted).

  3. One that is hopelessly outmoded or unwieldy: "The old, big-city teaching hospital is a dinosaur" (Peggy Breault).


[New Latin Dīnosauria, group name, from Dīnosaurus, former genus name : Greek deinos, monstrous + Greek sauros, lizard.]
di'no·sau'ric (-sôr'ĭk) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Science Dictionary
dinosaur   (dī'nə-sôr')  Pronunciation Key 
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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