Definition of tyrannosaur in US English:

noun

• A very large bipedal carnivorous dinosaur of the late Cretaceous period, with powerful jaws and small clawlike front legs.

  Family Tyrannosauridae, infraorder Carnosauria, suborder Theropoda: several species, in particular Tyrannosaurus rex

  Example sentences

  • ‘Throughout the Late Cretaceous, tyrannosaurs diversified into several species, all with large heads, powerful bodies, and two-fingered hands.’
  • ‘Mum, did you know that the gigantosaurus was the biggest meat-eating dinosaur and not the tyrannosaurus rex?’
  • ‘Most predatory dinosaurs such as tyrannosaurs and velociraptors have usually been depicted in museums, films and books as covered in a thick hide of dull brown or green skin.’
  • ‘Because feathers are a unique feature, they are thought to be characteristic of many theropod dinosaurs, including tyrannosaurs.’
  • ‘Today's bullies of the Serengeti plains, lions and spotted hyenas, were paralleled by tyrannosaurs in Jurassic and Cretaceous ecosystems.’