Meaning & use
fossil
The preserved remains or traces of an ancient plant or animal, typically found in rock.
See it in a sentence
Paleontologists discovered a dinosaur fossil embedded deep within the cliffside rock.
The museum displays a fossil of an ancient fern millions of years old.
A note on using this word
Informally, 'fossil' can describe a very old-fashioned person or idea, as in 'an old fossil.'
Words with a similar meaning
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