fossil
Pluralfossils
- 1The hardened remains of an animal or plant, kept in rock from long ago.
Like a footprint pressed into wet mud that turns hard as stone over time.
She found a fossil of a shell pressed into the rock.
Children love digging for fossils along the beach.
Note
- 2Any sign of ancient life kept in rock, such as shells, prints, or burrows.
Like clues a detective finds: not just a body, but footprints and leftovers too.
A burrow can count as a fossil even without any bones.
Scientists study fossils to learn how ancient creatures lived.
Note
- 3Something so old or out of date that it seems to belong to the past.
Like a toy from long ago that nobody plays with anymore.
That old phone is a real fossil compared to new ones.
His ideas about music are total fossils these days.
Similarrelic, dinosaur, anachronism, antique, throwback
- 4An old person seen as too set in old-fashioned ways.
Like a grandparent who still thinks all new music is just noise.
The kids called their teacher a fossil for banning phones.
Some fossils in the office still refuse to use email.
Similarfogey, dinosaur, fuddy-duddy, relic, square
Note
- 5A word that survives only inside one fixed phrase and is never used on its own.
Like an old key that only fits one lock and is useless anywhere else.
'Ado' is a fossil that lives on only in 'much ado.'
Many old words become fossils hidden inside common sayings.
Note
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of fossil apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
It comes from French fossile, which came from Latin. The Latin word meant "something dug up."