Bronze Age


noun
  1. a period in the history of humankind, following the Stone Age and preceding the Iron Age, during which bronze weapons and implements were used.

  2. (lowercase)Classical Mythology. the third of the four ages of the human race, marked by war and violence; regarded as inferior to the silver age but superior to the following iron age.

Compare Meanings

Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.

Origin of Bronze Age

1
First recorded in 1860–65

Words Nearby Bronze Age

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

How to use Bronze Age in a sentence

  • In truth, the “ancient palace” of the Minoans is much more a shrine to the brazen than to the Bronze Age.

    Best of Brit Lit | Peter Stothard | June 5, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Still higher lie the deposits of the Bronze Age, in which metal replaces stone in human implements.

    Man And His Ancestor | Charles Morris
  • Scottish cremation burials of the Bronze Age retain traces of linen wrappings of the urn.

    Homer and His Age | Andrew Lang
  • From this earlier place of origin it, according to him, spread to the Bronze Age terramares of northern Italy.

    The Swastika | Thomas Wilson
  • Figs. 185 and 186 represent the one-handled cinerary urns peculiar to the Bronze Age in Italy.

    The Swastika | Thomas Wilson
  • But the cavern of Sinsin was determined, from the objects found therein, to belong to the Bronze Age.

    The Swastika | Thomas Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for bronze age (1 of 2)

bronze age

noun
  1. classical myth a period of human existence marked by war and violence, following the golden and silver ages and preceding the iron age

British Dictionary definitions for Bronze Age (2 of 2)

Bronze Age

noun
  1. archaeol

    • a technological stage between the Stone and Iron Ages, beginning in the Middle East about 4500 bc and lasting in Britain from about 2000 to 500 bc, during which weapons and tools were made of bronze and there was intensive trading

    • (as modifier): a Bronze-Age tool

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 Bronze Age

Bronze Age

  1. A period of human culture between the Stone Age and the Iron Age, characterized by the use of weapons and implements made of cast bronze. The beginning of the Bronze Age is generally dated before 3000 bce in parts of Mediterranean Europe, the Middle East, and China. See Note at Three Age system.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for Bronze Age

Bronze Age

A period of history from roughly 4000 b.c. to the onset of the Iron Age. During the Bronze Age, people learned to make bronze tools. In the Bronze Age in Mesopotamia, the wheel and the ox-drawn plow were in use.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.