WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
Ho•mo e•rec•tus
(hō′mō i rek′təs),USA pronunciation
- Physical Anthropologyan extinct species of the human lineage, formerly known as Pithecanthropus erectus, having upright stature and a well-evolved postcranial skeleton, but with a smallish brain, low forehead, and protruding face. See illus. under hominid.
- Physical Anthropologya fossil belonging to this species. Cf. Arago man, Java man, Peking man.
- Neo-Latin: upright man
- 1970–75
'Homo erectus' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):