How to Use theropod in a Sentence

theropod

noun
  • Tyrannosaurs belonged to a greater group of theropod dinosaurs called coelurosaurs.
    — Brian Switek, Scientific American Blog Network, 14 June 2017
  • Even the advanced meat-eating dinosaurs called theropods weren’t immune.
    — Traci Watson, USA TODAY, 4 July 2017
  • All three theropods had beaks but with vestigial, or functionless, tooth sockets.
    — Nicholas St. Fleur, New York Times, 26 Sep. 2017
  • Such a find could offer better physical evidence as to what the mouths of theropods looked like.
    — Alex Chun, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Mar. 2023
  • Both belong to a group of dinosaurs known as theropods, a clade characterized by hollow bones and three-toed limbs.
    — Scott Travers, Forbes, 4 Dec. 2024
  • The extinct theropods lived 75 million years ago and likely only laid four to six eggs per cycle.
    — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 3 Apr. 2023
  • Early sauropods, ornithischians, and theropods all tended to stay in these regions.
    — Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 28 May 2024
  • The preferred strategy didn’t limit how much bigger the theropods became.
    — Anna Gibbs, Quanta Magazine, 20 Mar. 2023
  • Only two such tracks from a theropod have been recorded by Fiorillo’s team here.
    — Emily Schwing, Anchorage Daily News, 4 Oct. 2022
  • There are sauropod tracks, and footprints from theropods, mainly the Acrocanthosaurus, which left three-toed prints.
    — Tasha Tsiaperas, Axios, 4 Dec. 2024
  • The findings could shed new light on the evolution of birds, which arose from a group of carnivorous, two-legged dinosaurs called theropods.
    — Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Dec. 2023
  • In comparison, theropods are predators, which typically do not roam in large groups.
    — Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 5 Dec. 2025
  • The site has three main track types — the big meat-eating theropods that made the Eubrontes tracks, and two smaller plant eaters that left three- and four-toed tracks.
    — David Lyon, BostonGlobe.com, 18 June 2019
  • Researchers believe that these tracks were left by theropods, a diverse group of bipedal dinosaurs that includes the Tyrannosaurus rex.
    — Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, 3 Apr. 2018
  • In 1909, the first tracks were discovered in the area, belonging to a three-toed theropod.
    — Dallas News, 24 Aug. 2022
  • Several other theropods were rendered with feathers.
    — The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
  • Several other theropods were rendered with feathers.
    — Yutao Chen, Washington Post, 23 Jan. 2026
  • The closest comparable structures had only been seen in avian dinosaurs – birds – and other theropods.
    — Brian Switek, Scientific American Blog Network, 15 May 2017
  • What D’Emic and his colleagues found in theropods might eventually turn out to be more the rule than the exception.
    — Anna Gibbs, Quanta Magazine, 20 Mar. 2023
  • The Podokesaurus, about 1 foot tall and 3 feet long, is what’s known as a theropod — a type of dinosaur that walked on its hind legs with trios of claws.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Oct. 2022
  • When a theropod was buoyed up by water, its middle toe pressed more deeply into the mud, and the other two toes and heel left a much lighter impression behind.
    — Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 5 Dec. 2025
  • The large theropod roamed what is now known as the northern part of Africa during the Cretaceous period.
    — Elizabeth Gamillo, Discover Magazine, 27 Feb. 2024
  • Vespersaurus paranaensis is a member of the Noasaurinae group of theropod dinosaurs.
    — Jill Langlois, National Geographic, 2 July 2019
  • Mei is a small theropod dinosaur from Liaoning Province, found in a sleeping or resting posture.
    — Ginny Mohler, Smithsonian, 18 Apr. 2018
  • Both are descendants of theropods, two-legged creatures that wreaked havoc in various periods on Earth.
    — Claire Thornton, USA TODAY, 26 Oct. 2024
  • In turn, theropods and ornithischians may have developed the ability to generate their own body heat millions of years ago.
    — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 23 Jan. 2025
  • Meanwhile, larger theropods left broad, deep tracks with long strides, including sections that suggested short bursts of running or sprinting.
    — New Atlas, 3 Dec. 2025
  • It’s known to have sported osteoderms along its back, possibly weighed as much as three tons, and had massive jaws, not dissimilar to that of a large theropod.
    — Sean Mowbray, Discover Magazine, 1 Aug. 2024
  • Sauropod and theropod tracks from 113 million years ago are preserved along the bed of the Paluxy River, which runs through the park.
    — Dale Blasingame, San Antonio Express-News, 11 June 2018
  • Since theropods are exceptionally rare at the site, Brockhurst has only found 10 or so specimens in the area over three decades.
    — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 5 Dec. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'theropod.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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