What does "velociraptor" mean?
A small agile dinosaur, of the genus Velociraptor, having sickle-shaped claws. It is also thought to have had a feathered coat. Fossils have been found in Late Cretaceous deposits Mongolia and China (around 75-71 mya).
Velociraptor
/vəˌlɒsɪˈɹæptɚ/ noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A small agile dinosaur, of the genus Velociraptor, having sickle-shaped claws. It is also thought to have had a feathered coat. Fossils have been found in Late Cretaceous deposits Mongolia and China (around 75-71 mya).
- Grammar: velociraptor is listed as noun.
- Usage evidence: The velociraptor wasn't as reptilian nor as big as it appears in Jurassic Park.
How to use "velociraptor"
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Meaning check
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Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "velociraptor" in a final draft.
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Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 A small agile dinosaur, of the genus Velociraptor, having sickle-shaped claws. It is also thought to have had a feathered coat. Fossils have been found in Late Cretaceous deposits Mongolia and China (around 75-71 mya).
"Bipedal hadrosaurs, great hulking lambeosaurs, certain rhino-like ceratopsians and relatives of the velociraptors - all large and probably able swimmers - had the greatest success."
- 2 small active carnivore that probably fed on protoceratops; possibly related more closely to birds than to other dinosaurs wordnet
- 3 Also Deinonychus.
"This is my favorite velociraptor, and that is saying a lot....That this species is sunk into Velociraptor is rather unfortunate, because the name Deinonychus Ostrom 1969a is a fine one."
Example
"The velociraptor wasn't as reptilian nor as big as it appears in Jurassic Park."
Common questions
How do you use "velociraptor" in a sentence?
The velociraptor wasn't as reptilian nor as big as it appears in Jurassic Park.
How do you pronounce "velociraptor"?
Pronounced /vəˌlɒsɪˈɹæptɚ/.
Etymology
From New Latin Velociraptor genus name, from vēlōx (“swift”) + raptor (“thief”). The application to Deinonychus came about because Gregory S. Paul proposed that Velociraptor and Deinonychus were the same genus and this idea was taken up in the book leading to the Jurassic Park film series.