fossil

noun

The mineralized remains of an animal or plant.

(paleontology) Any preserved evidence of ancient life, including shells, imprints, burrows, coprolites, and organically-produced chemicals.

(figuratively) Anything extremely old, extinct, or outdated.

(figuratively, derogatory) An extremely old or outdated person.

(linguistics) A fossil word.

A small city, the county seat of Wheeler County, Oregon, United States.

Roots

fossilisfossil- · Latin · dug up

Synonyms for fossil

dodon

Synonyms & related words for fossil

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of fossil — including dodo. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to fossil

Explore words related to fossil — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include fossilized, fossiliferous, encrinite, ichthyolite, belemnite, ichnite, burrstone, coprolite. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for fossil

Common synonyms for fossil include dodo — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does fossil come from?

The word fossil breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root fossil-, from Latin fossilis (“dug up”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.