velociraptor
Velociraptor (noun) means a small, fast-moving meat-eating dinosaur with sickle-shaped claws, known from fossils found in Mongolia and China dating to the late Cretaceous period, roughly 71-75 million years ago. Example: “Fossil evidence suggests the velociraptor was covered in feathers.”
How to use velociraptor
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA small, quick, clawed dinosaur, made far more famous by movies than by its actual (much smaller) real-life size.
The Jurassic Park movie velociraptors are roughly human-sized; real velociraptor fossils show an animal closer to the size of a turkey.
Word forms
velociraptors plural
Fill the gap
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Fossil evidence suggests the _____ was covered in feathers.
Etymology
From New Latin Velociraptor, combining Latin vēlōx ("swift") and raptor ("thief, plunderer"). The film Jurassic Park popularised a larger, more human-sized depiction based on a related dinosaur, Deinonychus, after some paleontologists argued the two genera should be merged.
Rhymes for velociraptor
See all rhymes for velociraptor →Frequently asked questions
What does “velociraptor” mean?
The word “velociraptor” means a small, fast-moving meat-eating dinosaur with sickle-shaped claws, known from fossils found in Mongolia and China dating to the late Cretaceous period, roughly 71-75 million years ago. In plain terms, a small, quick, clawed dinosaur, made far more famous by movies than by its actual (much smaller) real-life size.
How do you pronounce “velociraptor”?
“Velociraptor” is pronounced vuh-lo-sih-RAPT (/vəˌlɒsɪˈɹæptɚ/ in IPA).
How do you use “velociraptor” in a sentence?
Here is “velociraptor” used in a sentence: “Fossil evidence suggests the velociraptor was covered in feathers.”
What part of speech is “velociraptor”?
“Velociraptor” is a noun.
Where does the word “velociraptor” come from?
The word “velociraptor” comes from New Latin.