# fossil

/ˈfɑsəɫ/ (US) · /fˈɒsəl/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/fossil
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. ancient remains

noun · CEFR B2

the remains of a plant or animal that have turned into stone over millions of years.

For teachers: the mineralised remains or traces of an organism from a past geological age.

- The children found a small fossil of a shell while walking along the beach.
- The discovery of a well-preserved dinosaur fossil in the desert provided researchers with new insights into the species' social behaviour.

### 2. outdated person

noun · CEFR C1 · Informal · Humorous

an unkind way to describe a person who is very old or has very old-fashioned ideas.

For teachers: a derogatory figurative term for an elderly person or someone perceived as being hopelessly behind the times.

- My boss is such a fossil; he still wants us to send everything by fax.
- The younger engineers viewed the department head as a fossil who refused to adopt modern software solutions.

### 3. fossil word

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

a word that is only used in one specific phrase and is not used anywhere else in modern English.

For teachers: a word preserved in a specific idiom or frozen phrase while having otherwise fallen out of general use.

- The word 'fro' in the phrase 'to and fro' is a fossil because we don't use it alone anymore.
- Linguists often study fossil words like 'kith' to understand the historical development of English collocations.

Usage: Usually appears in the compound 'fossil word'.

### 4. preserved or ancient

adjective · CEFR B2

relating to or being a fossil.

For teachers: pertaining to, of the nature of, or converted into a fossil.

- The museum has a large collection of fossil bones from the Jurassic period.
- The environmental impact report focused on the preservation of fossil tracks discovered during the initial excavation of the site.

## Examples

- The museum has a large fossil of a dinosaur.
- The geologist discovered a rare fish fossil while exploring the limestone cliffs near the coast.
- By studying the fossil record, scientists can reconstruct the evolutionary history of species that have been extinct for millions of years.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.