Definition

1. Noun:
   • An extinct reptile: A dinosaur is any of a group of extinct, often very large, reptiles that lived millions of years ago, primarily during the Mesozoic Era.
   • Something obsolete: Informally, a dinosaur can refer to a person or thing that is outdated, old-fashioned, or unable to adapt to change.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Extinct Animal):
  • The Tyrannosaurus rex is probably the most famous dinosaur.
  • Scientists study dinosaur fossils to learn about prehistoric life.
• Noun (Something Obsolete):
  • He's a dinosaur when it comes to technology; he still uses a flip phone.
  • That manufacturing process is a dinosaur in today's automated industry.

Advanced Usage

• "like a dinosaur": Used to describe something as very old, slow, or inefficient.
  • The company's filing system is like a dinosaur; it's all paper-based and takes forever to find anything.

Variants and Related Words

• Dinosaurian (adj): Relating to or characteristic of dinosaurs.
  • The museum has an impressive collection of dinosaurian bones.
• Dinosaurology (n): The scientific study of dinosaurs (a less common term than paleontology).
  • Her passion for dinosaurology began when she was a child.

Synonyms

• Fossil (n, informal): An old-fashioned or outdated person (similar to the informal sense of "dinosaur").
• Behemoth (n): A huge or monstrous creature, often used metaphorically for something very large (similar to the size connotation of dinosaurs).
• Antediluvian (adj): Extremely old or old-fashioned (formal, similar to the informal sense of "dinosaur").

Related Phrases

• "a dinosaur in the room": A playful variation of "elephant in the room," referring to a large, obvious problem that everyone ignores. (This is a creative, non-standard idiom).
  • The company's massive debt is the dinosaur in the room that no executive wants to discuss.

Related Idioms

• "Going the way of the dinosaur": Becoming extinct or obsolete.
  • Physical encyclopedias are going the way of the dinosaur, replaced by online resources.

Noun

1. any of numerous extinct terrestrial reptiles of the Mesozoic era