ankylosaur

American  

[ang-kuh-loh-sawr] / ˈæŋ kə loʊˌsɔr /

noun

1. any of several herbivorous dinosaurs of the suborder Ankylosauria, from the Cretaceous Period, having the body covered with thick, bony plates.

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ankylosaur British  

/ ˈæŋkɪləʊˌsɔː /

noun

1. any of various quadrupedal herbivorous ornithischian dinosaurs constituting the suborder Ankylosauria, which were most abundant in upper Cretaceous times and had a very heavily armoured tanklike body

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Etymology

Origin of ankylosaur

First recorded in 1905–10, ankylosaur is from the New Latin word Ankylosauria name of the suborder. See ancylo-, -saur, -ia

Example Sentences

Fairy-tale-like, just weeks earlier, local kids had stumbled into a discovery of ankylosaur tracks, so Tumbler Ridge rebranded to take advantage of its grand mountain views and spectacular surroundings.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

"If you had asked me what I would have expected the oldest known ankylosaur to look like I would have said something with quite simple armour," he told BBC News.

From BBC • Aug. 27, 2025

They included two unique footprints: one made by an ankylosaur, an armored plant-eating dinosaur, and the other by a carnivorous theropod.

From Washington Post • Oct. 1, 2022

But it’s possible that Gondwana hosted multiple lineages of ankylosaur, including some more closely related to northern animals.

From New York Times • Dec. 1, 2021

Instead, it was a rare southern hemisphere member of the tank-like ankylosaur family of dinosaurs.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 1, 2021