T. rex

noun

ˈtē-ˈreks 

variants or less commonly T-Rex

plural T. rexes also T-Rexes

: tyrannosaurus rex

Though no one can actually time a running dinosaur with a stopwatch, scientists still have some idea of how fast T. rex and his companions ran.

—Lilian T. Hoffecker

We don't know if T. rex hunted alone or in packs, if it pursued live prey or merely scavenged.

—Discover Magazine

Spielberg's dinosaurs had teeth prominently and terrifyingly on constant display, much like a modern crocodile. [Auburn University professor Thomas] Cullen and his team, however, have shown instead that the T-Rex … had lips that covered their teeth much like a modern monitor lizard.

—John West

T. rexes were among the largest meat-eaters on Earth during their reign … 144 million years ago. They had to eat a lot, and often, to support their enormous bodies.

—John Johnson Jr.

Examples of T. rex in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Its fossils underscore the possibility that other tyrannosaurs, such as T. rex itself, may have had fuzzy feathers, too. —Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Sep. 2024

Should’ve bought that T. rex cookie jar, that ironstone pitcher, that surfboard, that sleigh. —Paige Williams, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024

To estimate just how big T. rex could have gotten, Mallon and Hone turned to computer modeling. —Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 July 2024

In 2017, Griffin underwrote an historic dinosaur exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois, with a $16.5 million gift to support its acquiring Sue the T. rex, a 122-foot-long Tyrannosaurus rex. —Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 18 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, short for Tyrannosaurus rex

First Known Use

1915, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

T. rex

noun

ˈtē-ˈreks 

: tyrannosaur