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Glite Dictionary
Tyrannosaurus rex

Tyrannosaurus rex

1 4.6
A very large meat-eating dinosaur from North America that stood on two legs with a big head and sharp teeth
  • noun
  • /taɪˌrænəˈsɔrəs rɛks/
  • Specialized
translation icon : Tyrannosaurus rex
  • the largest Tyrannosaurus rex ever
  • Tyrannosaurus rex ever found

This guy Kevin owns the most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex in the world.

Examples

  • This guy Kevin owns the most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex in the world.

    Bussin' With The Boys

  • The museum displays a life-sized model of a Tyrannosaurus rex to show visitors how it looked millions of years ago.

  • Paleontologists discovered fossils belonging to a Tyrannosaurus rex that lived during the late Cretaceous period.

  • In many films, a Tyrannosaurus rex is portrayed as the terrifying predator of the dinosaur age.

Synonyms

tyrannosaur
vsTyrannosaurus rex
  • US
3 8.6

A large two-legged meat-eating dinosaur with big sharp teeth

is the specific North American species rather than the broader type
Tyrannosaurus
vsTyrannosaurus rex
  • Specialized
1 7.1

A very large meat-eating dinosaur that lived long ago

is the single species within that genus

Surface Forms

Tyrannosaurus rex singular
Tyrannosaurus rexes plural

Morphology

Tyrannosaurus + Rex

Both constituents are descriptive and compositional: 'Tyrannosaurus' already denotes a famous large carnivorous dinosaur and 'rex' means 'king' or ruler, so a learner who knows both will readily infer this is the (king) dinosaur species. The name is a transparent taxonomic binomial used across languages rather than an idiom, so its meaning is derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Tyrannosaurus rex comes from old words: tyranno means 'tyrant', saurus means 'lizard', and rex means 'king'. This 'tyrant lizard king' image helps you remember it as a very large, powerful meat-eating dinosaur.