brontosaur: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C1/C2Informal, Technical (palaeontology)
Quick answer
What does “brontosaur” mean?
A very large, herbivorous dinosaur with a long neck and tail.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A very large, herbivorous dinosaur with a long neck and tail.
A nickname or metaphor for something massive, clumsy, outdated, or slow to change.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in meaning or usage. The scientific debate over the validity of the genus 'Brontosaurus' was equally known in both communities.
Connotations
Identical: evokes a specific, popular image of a dinosaur, often contrasted with more agile or fearsome predators.
Frequency
Equally low-frequency in everyday language, equally recognizable due to cultural prevalence of dinosaurs.
Grammar
How to Use “brontosaur” in a Sentence
The [adj] brontosaura brontosaur of [noun (e.g., a brontosaur of a company)]Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “brontosaur” in a Sentence
adjective
British English
- The company's brontosaurian bureaucracy stifled innovation.
- He made a brontosaurian effort to finish the work.
American English
- The brontosaurian pace of the legislative process frustrated everyone.
- They lived in a brontosaurian mansion on the hill.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Metaphor for a large, slow-moving, bureaucratic corporation resistant to change.
Academic
Used in palaeontology and related fields; also in social sciences as a metaphor for obsolete systems.
Everyday
Used to describe anything very large and slow, often humorously (e.g., a slow queue, a clumsy pet).
Technical
Refers specifically to the dinosaur genus 'Brontosaurus', a member of the family Diplodocidae.
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “brontosaur”
- Misspelling as 'brontasaur' or 'brontosor'. Confusing it with other large dinosaurs like Brachiosaurus (which has a different posture). Using it as a verb (*'to brontosaur around').
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. For much of the 20th century, it was considered an invalid name, with fossils reassigned to Apatosaurus. However, a major 2015 study concluded that Brontosaurus was a distinct genus after all, a view now accepted by many palaeontologists.
Brontosaurus (like Diplodocus) had a long, horizontal neck and whip-like tail. Brachiosaurus had longer front legs, a more upright posture, and a shorter, bulkier tail.
Yes, though it's informal. The more formal adjectival form is 'brontosaurian,' meaning 'resembling a brontosaur in size or slowness.'
The name 'Brontosaurus' comes from Greek 'bronte' (thunder) and 'sauros' (lizard), likely referring to the ground-shaking footsteps of such a massive animal.
A very large, herbivorous dinosaur with a long neck and tail.
Brontosaur is usually informal, technical (palaeontology) in register.
Brontosaur: in British English it is pronounced /ˈbrɒn.tə.sɔː/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈbrɑːn.tə.sɔːr/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “a corporate brontosaur”
- “to move like a brontosaur in treacle”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
BRONTO-SAUR: Think of a BRONZE (big, heavy metal) dinosaur with a THUNDEROUS (from Greek 'bronte' = thunder) step.
Conceptual Metaphor
SIZE IS MASS/WEIGHT, SLOWNESS IS SIZE, ORGANISATIONS ARE ANIMALS.
Practice
Quiz
In a business context, what does describing a company as a 'brontosaur' typically imply?