ornithopod
noun
or·nith·o·pod
ȯr-ˈni-thə-ˌpäd 
ˈȯr-ni-thə-
ˈȯr-ni-thə-
: any of a suborder (Ornithopoda) of bipedal ornithischian dinosaurs (such as a hadrosaur) with digitigrade walking limbs usually having only three functional toes
Examples of ornithopod in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Scaling this up to a large ornithopod walking at 4 km/h (2.5 mph), trackway calculations would report its locomotion as running at nearly 19 km/h (11.8 mph).
—
New Atlas, 24 June 2025
Inside the stomach of the 2.5 meter-long crocodile, scientists identified the partly digested remnants of a young ornithopod, according to a paper naming the new species published in the scientific journal Gondwana Research on February 11.
—Sana Noor Haq, CNN, 14 Feb. 2022
Pentland said that the Winton area, which is now comprised of sheep and cattle farms, was full of long-necked sauropods, carnivorous theropods (including T. rex), ankylosaurs, ornithopods, as well as pterosaurs.
—Fox News, 3 Oct. 2019
The museum holds Australia’s largest opalized dinosaur skeleton, a portion of an ornithopod’s spine, skull, limbs and ribs, still partly encased in clay.
—Michelle Innis, New York Times, 5 July 2016
Two limb bones — one from a subadult ornithopod dinosaur, and the other from a juvenile ornithopod dinosaur — show tooth marks.
—Brian Switek, WIRED, 2 Mar. 2012
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New Atlas, 24 June 2025
Inside the stomach of the 2.5 meter-long crocodile, scientists identified the partly digested remnants of a young ornithopod, according to a paper naming the new species published in the scientific journal Gondwana Research on February 11.
—Sana Noor Haq, CNN, 14 Feb. 2022
Pentland said that the Winton area, which is now comprised of sheep and cattle farms, was full of long-necked sauropods, carnivorous theropods (including T. rex), ankylosaurs, ornithopods, as well as pterosaurs.
—Fox News, 3 Oct. 2019
The museum holds Australia’s largest opalized dinosaur skeleton, a portion of an ornithopod’s spine, skull, limbs and ribs, still partly encased in clay.
—Michelle Innis, New York Times, 5 July 2016
Two limb bones — one from a subadult ornithopod dinosaur, and the other from a juvenile ornithopod dinosaur — show tooth marks.
—Brian Switek, WIRED, 2 Mar. 2012
Cite this Entry
“Ornithopod.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ornithopod. Accessed 4 May. 2026.
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