fossilise

Everyday

1. (science) To slowly turn into a fossil, where a dead plant or animal is preserved in rock over millions of years. tree →
2. (of ideas or habits) To become fixed and unable to change, as in «Their ideas had fossilised». tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons on rocks and evolution: when a creature dies and is buried quickly in mud, its hard parts can fossilise as minerals replace them. Mary Anning found famous fossils on the Jurassic Coast in England. In everyday talk, «fossilised» can mean very old-fashioned.

Examples

• The dinosaur bones fossilised over millions of years. tree →
• Footprints can fossilise in mud that turns to rock. tree →
• Soft parts like skin rarely fossilise. tree →
• We made a fossilised leaf print from plaster. tree →
• Mary Anning found a fossilised ichthyosaur. tree →
• Grandpa jokes that his old car is a fossilised wreck. tree →

Note

UK spelling «fossilise» or «fossilize»; US, Canada «fossilize». Noun «fossil», «fossilisation». Most living things never fossilise, because they rot away first.