avian dinosaur
noun
plural avian dinosaurs
: a bird when considered as the survivor of a lineage of theropod dinosaurs
… thanks to a heap of lovely fossils, we now know that even the most fearsome of the tyrant dinosaurs were closely related to the avian dinosaurs—the birds that flit around our backyards today.—
Brian Switek
Brian SwitekHardly the embodiment of obsolescence, more than eighteen thousand species of avian dinosaurs flit, trod, and swim about our planet today.—Kenneth Lacovara
compare non-avian dinosaur
Kenneth LacovaraExamples of avian dinosaur in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
During the past 66 million years, repeated on different continents and islands all over the world, avian dinosaurs have reached prodigious sizes and even become apex predators in their ancient habitats.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 May 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Avian dinosaur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/avian%20dinosaur. Accessed 17 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share