Definition

Noun: 1. A very large, four-legged, plant-eating dinosaur: "Brontosaurus" refers to a genus of enormous, long-necked, long-tailed, herbivorous sauropod dinosaurs that lived during the Late Jurassic period. It is commonly known for its massive size and is often depicted in popular culture.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The museum's centerpiece is a complete skeleton of a brontosaurus.
  • Children are often fascinated by the immense size of the brontosaurus.
  • The brontosaurus used its long neck to reach leaves high in the trees.

Advanced Usage

• Scientific Context: In paleontology, the classification of has been debated. For much of the 20th century, it was considered a synonym for , but some recent studies have argued for its reinstatement as a distinct genus.
  • The paper argues for the validity of the genus Brontosaurus based on skeletal distinctions.

Variants and Related Words

• Apatosaurus (n): A closely related genus of sauropod dinosaur, which was once considered synonymous with.
• Sauropod (n): The larger group or clade of dinosaurs to which belongs, characterized by large size, long necks and tails, and a herbivorous diet.
• Thunder lizard: A common informal translation of the name "Brontosaurus," from the Greek (thunder) and (lizard).

Synonyms

• Apatosaurus (in historical scientific contexts where the names were merged).

Related Idioms/Phrases

• (As) big as a brontosaurus: Used hyperbolically to describe something as extremely large.
  • After the holiday dinner, I felt as big as a brontosaurus.

Noun

1. huge quadrupedal herbivorous dinosaur common in North America in the late Jurassic