Coined and defined by Sereno (1999b), this node-based taxon depends on the position of Tyrannosauroidea relative to other coelurosaurians. As this is not well established, its taxonomic content is not particularly stable. With Tyrannosauroidea closer to Aves than Ornithomimosauria, Tyrannoraptora has identical taxonomic content to Maniraptora on most cladograms (although they are not the same as the former is node-based and the latter stem-based). With Tyrannosauroidea more distant from Aves than Ornithomimosauria, its content is distinct and more inclusive than either Maniraptora or Maniraptoriformes.

Holtz et al. (2004) provided a first-order revision of Sereno’s initial definition that used species as specifiers. The definition adopted here is a texual variant of Holtz et al. (2004).