Tyrannosaurus rex

noun

Ty·​ran·​no·​sau·​rus rex tə-ˌra-nə-ˈsȯr-əs-ˈreks 

(ˌ)tī-

variants or Tyrannosaurus Rex or less commonly Tyrannosaurus or tyrannosaurus or tyrannosaurus rex

plural Tyrannosaurus rexes or Tyrannosaurus Rexes also Tyrannosauruses or tyrannosauruses or tyrannosaurus rexes

: a massive North American bipedal tyrannosaurid dinosaur (Tyrannosaurus rex) of the late Cretaceous with a large skull, heavy tail, and reduced forelimbs having two clawed digits : tyrannosaur sense 1

Tyrannosaurus rex was … one of the biggest meat-eaters ever. It was over 40 feet tall, and weighed up to 7 tons!

—Wendy Larson

A study of the running ability of Tyrannosaurus Rex … suggests that the king of the prehistoric jungle wasn't quite the speedster we once thought.

—Andrea Dorfman et al.

During this period, many groups of dinosaurs, including the fearsome tyrannosaurus and the three-horned triceratops, reached their greatest size, 12 meters (40 feet) and 9 meters (30 feet) long, respectively.

—Joseph Wallace

… in a room full of Tyrannosaurus rexes I meet museum volunteers … who are using brushes and tiny picks on fossils in an area where people can watch and ask questions.

—Mel White

True, there may no longer be actual tyrannosauruses running amok, but there are still dinosaur descendants hanging around, and they may even be in your backyard: birds, of course!

—Emily Graham

called also T. rex

Examples of Tyrannosaurus rex in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Chicago’s Field Museum has Sue the gigantic Tyrannosaurus rex. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 16 Oct. 2024

However, dinosaurs including the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex and sturdy Triceratops, were not the only types of animals roaming the region 68 million years ago. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 9 Oct. 2024

However, the ride wouldn’t be complete without the appearance of the Tyrannosaurus rex — the main antagonist of the first film. —Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 3 Oct. 2024

In the past two years, multiple studies have sought to clarify whether the animal known as Tyrannosaurus rex in fact represented a single species. —Asher Elbein, Scientific American, 24 Sep. 2024

New dinosaur discovery may be the closest relative to Tyrannosaurus rex, scientists say Researchers expect to not only discover more species from the fossils that were collected but to find more skeletons if and when additional excavations commence. —Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 4 Sep. 2024

There are no cousins of Tyrannosaurus rex stomping through the vast woods of Siberia, no Apatosaurus ambling through the Congo rainforest. —Hans Sues, Discover Magazine, 15 Aug. 2024

The McDonald's Dinosaur in Tucson Not to be outdone by teal arches, a Tucson McDonald's has a life-size Tyrannosaurus rex statue near its entrance. —Tiffany Acosta, The Arizona Republic, 2 Aug. 2024

Of course, there’s also the conspicuous absence of Tyrannosaurus rex wandering around. —Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 31 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin

First Known Use

1905, in the meaning defined above