Apatosaurus
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A large sauropod dinosaur of the genus Apatosaurus of the late Jurassic Period, having a long neck and tail and a relatively small head.
"The American Museum of Natural History’s dinosaur collection is currently under wraps, awaiting the completion of its new display space. The world-renowned collection of saber-toothed tigers, mammoths, apatosauri, and other fossilized vertebrates (does that include Ronald Reagan and Jesse Helms?) will soon be showcased in six new halls on the fourth floor."
- 2 huge quadrupedal herbivorous dinosaur common in North America in the late Jurassic wordnet
Example
More examples"The American Museum of Natural History’s dinosaur collection is currently under wraps, awaiting the completion of its new display space. The world-renowned collection of saber-toothed tigers, mammoths, apatosauri, and other fossilized vertebrates (does that include Ronald Reagan and Jesse Helms?) will soon be showcased in six new halls on the fourth floor."
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἀπάτη (apátē, “trick, deception”) + -saurus, due to initial confusion over the analysis of the vertebral elements.
More for "apatosaurus"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.