Definition of fossil

• a. - Dug out of the earth; as, fossil coal; fossil salt.
• a. - Like or pertaining to fossils; contained in rocks, whether petrified or not; as, fossil plants, shells.
• n. - A substance dug from the earth.
• n. - The remains of an animal or plant found in stratified rocks. Most fossils belong to extinct species, but many of the later ones belong to species still living.
• n. - A person whose views and opinions are extremely antiquated; one whose sympathies are with a former time rather than with the present.