velociraptor

noun

ve·​loc·​i·​rap·​tor və-ˈlä-sə-ˌrap-tər 

: any of a genus (Velociraptor) of theropod dinosaurs of the Late Cretaceous having a long head with a flat snout and a large sickle-shaped claw on the second toe of each foot

Examples of velociraptor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

At Tyler Corporation, a high-security lab holds top-secret results of genetic engineering: the titular velociraptor, which cannot be seen … or trusted. —Dennis Harvey, Variety, 6 Dec. 2024

Virtually alone among scientific disciplines, geology suffers from a reputation as irredeemably stodgy, with all the tedious field work of paleontology and none of the velociraptors. —Kathryn Schulz, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2024

Meryl Streep walked with her head on backward so Steven Spielberg’s velociraptors could run. —Vikram Murthi, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2024

While the bulk of the family, including the tyrannosaurs and the velociraptors, broke out in feathers with their feet firmly planted, a small subset of the theropods developed feathers that took them to the skies some 230 million years ago. —Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 12 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, from Latin vēlōc-, vēlōx "swift, rapid" + -i- -i- + raptor "plunderer, predator" — more at velocity, raptor

Note: The genus Velociraptor was introduced by the American paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn (1857-1935) in "Three new Theropoda, Protoceratops zone, Central Mongolia," American Museum Novitates, No. 144 (November 7, 1924).

First Known Use

1924, in the meaning defined above