[dahy-nuh-sawr] 
| 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. |
| di·no·saur (dī'nə-sôr') n.
[New Latin Dīnosauria, group name, from Dīnosaurus, former genus name : Greek deinos, monstrous + Greek sauros, lizard.] di'no·sau'ric (-sôr'ĭk) adj. |
| 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. |
nəˌsɔr