stegosaurus

noun

stego·​sau·​rus ˌste-gə-ˈsȯr-əs How to pronounce stegosaurus (audio)
: any of a genus (Stegosaurus) of stegosaurs known from the Upper Jurassic rocks especially of Colorado and Wyoming

Examples of stegosaurus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The show’s Tyrannosaurus rex is true-to-life, 40 feet in length, while the baby stegosaurus is over 400 lbs. Maddie Browning, BostonGlobe.com, 2 Apr. 2023 Kids and young-at-heart dinosaur lovers of all ages will appreciate seeing the life-sized models of a triceratops, stegosaurus, and T-Rex, among other species. Elizabeth Rhodes, Travel + Leisure, 4 June 2023 Dinoteers Derek Rojan and Niaimani Cooper-Parker hold the head of a stegosaurus during a preview for Jurassic World Live at Agganis Arena. Maddie Browning, BostonGlobe.com, 2 Apr. 2023 Expect to see Blue the Raptor, a stegosaurus, triceratops and a T-rex. Lauren Daley, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Mar. 2023 And, for a while, many believed that the bipedal form of these dinosaurs was lost in favor of the much larger and lumbering four-footed tanks like the stegosaurus and ankylosaurs. Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 22 Aug. 2022 In total, researchers now know that five types of theropod, six types of sauropod, four types of ornithopod and six types of armored dinosaur roamed the coasts, and spotted the only evidence of a stegosaurus in the region to date. Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 27 Mar. 2017 The team is free to accompany field guides and visit the neighboring nunataks, the mountain ridges that emerge from the ice like bony plates on a stegosaurus' back. Serena Coady, CNN, 6 Feb. 2023 About 85 million years after this stegosaurus fossilized, the last dinosaurs went extinct. Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stegosaurus.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek stegos roof + sauros lizard — more at thatch

First Known Use

1880, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of stegosaurus was in 1880

Dictionary Entries Near stegosaurus

Cite this Entry

“Stegosaurus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stegosaurus. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

stegosaurus

noun
stego·​sau·​rus ˌsteg-ə-ˈsȯr-əs How to pronounce stegosaurus (audio)
: any of a genus of 4-footed plant-eating dinosaurs having bony plates and spikes on the back and tail and whose fossil remains are found in the Upper Jurassic rocks of Colorado and Wyoming

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