cretaceous

[ kri-tey-shuhs ]

adjective

resembling or containing chalk.
(initial capital letter)Geology. noting or pertaining to a period of the Mesozoic Era, from 140 million to 65 million years ago, characterized by the greatest development and subsequent extinction of dinosaurs and the advent of flowering plants and modern insects.

noun

(initial capital letter)Geology. the Cretaceous Period or System.

Origin of cretaceous

1665–70; <Latin crētāceus, equivalent to crēt(a) chalk, clay (cf. crayon) + -āceus-aceous; the geological period was defined from the chalk beds of SE England and associated formations

Other words from cretaceous

cre·ta·ceous·ly, adverb
non·cre·ta·ceous, adjective
post·cre·ta·ceous, adjective
su·per·cre·ta·ceous, adjective

Words Nearby cretaceous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cretaceous in a sentence

The black market trade in fossils stolen from the richest cretaceous fossil locality in the world has prompted a crackdown.
Stopping the Million-Dollar Fossil Thieves: Illegal Trade Meets World of Insatiable Research | Scott Bixby | June 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
This shallow-water phase existed throughout Jurassic and Lower cretaceous times.
The Principles of Stratigraphical Geology | J. E. Marr
Marls and limestones with fossils of an Eocene facies overlie the cretaceous rocks on the Gabun.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 1 "Franciscans" to "French Language" | Various
Other Ornithosaurs, such as Ornithocheirus from the cretaceous rocks, have the neck much more massive.
Dragons of the Air | H. G. Seeley
There are two remarkable modifications of the early dorsal vertebræ in some of the cretaceous Pterodactyles.
Dragons of the Air | H. G. Seeley

cretaceous Ornithosaurs sometimes differ from birds apparently in admitting the quadrato-jugal bone into the orbit.
Dragons of the Air | H. G. Seeley

British Dictionary definitions for cretaceous (1 of 2)

cretaceous

/ (krɪˈteɪʃəs) /

adjective

consisting of or resembling chalk

Origin of cretaceous

C17: from Latin crētāceus, from crēta, literally: Cretan earth, that is, chalk

Derived forms of cretaceous

cretaceously, adverb

British Dictionary definitions for Cretaceous (2 of 2)

Cretaceous

/ (krɪˈteɪʃəs) /

adjective

of, denoting, or formed in the last period of the Mesozoic era, between the Jurassic and Tertiary periods, lasting 80 million years during which chalk deposits were formed and flowering plants first appeared

noun

the Cretaceous the Cretaceous period or rock system

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for Cretaceous

Cretaceous

[ krĭ-tā′shəs ]

The third and last period of the Mesozoic Era, from about 144 to 65 million years ago. During this time the supercontinent Pangaea continued to split up, with modern-day South America and Africa splitting apart, the Atlantic Ocean widening, and India disconnecting itself entirely from the other landmasses to which it was attached. Dinosaurs continued to be the dominant terrestrial animals, but many insect groups, modern mammals and birds, and the angiosperms (flowering plants) also first appeared. The Cretaceous Period ended with a mass extinction event in which about 75 percent of all species, including marine, freshwater, and terrestrial organisms, became extinct. See Chart at geologic time.

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