✨📕 The NEWThe NEW Collegiate Dictionary, 12th Edition Over 5,000 words added — Buy Now! Collegiate DictionaryBuy Now!

ice age

noun

1
: a time of widespread glaciation
2
Ice Age : the Pleistocene glacial epoch

Examples of ice age in a Sentence

changes that occurred during the last ice age
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Fifty years ago a fascinating weather anomaly blanketed the United States in arctic, snowy weather and temporarily spawned fears of a new ice age. Doyle Rice, USA Today, 1 Dec. 2025 The results, published in the journal Science, show that by nearly 11,000 years ago, just after the last ice age, dog skulls were already different from those of wolves. NPR, 26 Nov. 2025 This part of the carbon cycle has helped Earth recover from past ice ages and avoid runaway warming. Morgan Underwood, The Conversation, 19 Nov. 2025 These biological remnants are providing insight into the last moments of the extinct ice age creature’s life. Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 15 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for ice age

Word History

First Known Use

1855, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ice age was in 1855

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ice age.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ice%20age. Accessed 5 Dec. 2025.

Kids Definition

ice age

noun
1
: a time of widespread glaciation
2
capitalized I&A : the most recent such period in the earth's past

More from Merriam-Webster on ice age

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!