Mesozoic

[ mez-uh-zoh-ik, mes-, mee-zuh-, -suh- ]

adjective

1. noting or pertaining to an era occurring between 230 and 65 million years ago, characterized by the appearance of flowering plants and by the appearance and extinction of dinosaurs.

noun

1. the Mesozoic Era or group of systems.

Mesozoic

/ ˌmɛsəʊˈzəʊɪk /

adjective

1. of, denoting, or relating to an era of geological time that began 250 000 000 years ago with the Triassic period and lasted about 185 000 000 years until the end of the Cretaceous period

noun

1. the Mesozoic
   the Mesozoic the Mesozoic era

Mesozoic

/ mĕz′ə-zō′ĭk /

1. The era of geologic time from about 245 to 65 million years ago. The Mesozoic Era was characterized by a drastic change in plants and animals. In the early part of the Mesozoic, ferns, cycads, and ginkgos were dominant; later, gymnosperms and angiosperms developed. Dinosaurs also first appeared in the Mesozoic and, with the exception of birds, became extinct at the end of the era.
2. See Chart at geologic time

Other Words From

• post-Mes·o·zoic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Mesozoic¹

First recorded in 1830–40; meso- + zo- + -ic

Example Sentences

The Mesozoic systems are classified according to the method generally adopted.

From Project Gutenberg

Enaliosaurians ('sea-lizards'), a group of gigantic Mesozoic reptiles of which the ichthyosaurus and plesiosaurus were the chief.

From Project Gutenberg

The case amounts almost to a demonstration if we compare with Dinosaurs their contemporaries, the Mesozoic birds.

From Project Gutenberg

The evidence furnished by Palozoic and Mesozoic formations points chiefly to mild, genial, and sometimes tropical conditions.

From Project Gutenberg

The next or closing period of this great Mesozoic time brought a wondrous change.

From Project Gutenberg