ice age

noun

1
: a time of widespread glaciation
2
capitalized I&A : the Pleistocene glacial epoch

Example Sentences

changes that occurred during the last ice age
Recent Examples on the Web Sixteen thousand years ago, the river sat in an ice-free corridor inside a glacial amphitheater left by the tailend of an ice age. Bymike Price, science.org, 23 Dec. 2022 But experts say the ferocity and scale of this downturn could end up leading to more of an ice age. Julian Mark And Gerrit De Vynck, Anchorage Daily News, 19 Dec. 2022 A long time ago Scientists in Denmark have found the world’s oldest DNA sequences in sediment from the ice age. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 10 Dec. 2022 Meanwhile, greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels altered climate, globalizing a fire crisis into a fire epoch, in which humanity’s combustion practices were creating the pyric equivalent of an ice age. Stephen Pyne, WSJ, 12 Dec. 2020 But at the same time, downward movement of the seafloor (a relic from the ice age) had the opposite effect, bringing in water to fill the deepened basin. Scott K. Johnson, Ars Technica, 19 Aug. 2020 Around 12,000 years ago, an ice age was rapidly coming to a close, bringing a spate of climatic changes and natural disasters to the region, Finch tells Science. Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Feb. 2020 Mars emerged from its most recent ice age about 400,000 years ago. David Rothery, Discover Magazine, 22 Aug. 2017 The climate at the time — before the ice sheets advanced at the start of the last ice age around 100,000 to 25,000 years ago — would have been similar to today’s conditions. Katie Hunt, CNN, 2 Feb. 2023 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ice age.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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

Dictionary Entries Near ice age

Cite this Entry

“Ice age.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ice%20age. Accessed 27 Mar. 2023.

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!


Challenging Standardized Test Words, Vol. 2

  • a pencil broken in half on top of a test answer sheet
  • The business’s new computer system proved not to be a panacea.
Spell It

Hear a word and type it out. How many can you get right?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can with using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.

Can you make 12 words with 7 letters?

PLAY