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  • Bronze Age
    Bronze Age
    noun
    a period in the history of humankind, following the Stone Age and preceding the Iron Age, during which bronze weapons and implements were used.
  • bronze age
    bronze age
    noun
    classical myth a period of human existence marked by war and violence, following the golden and silver ages and preceding the iron age

Bronze Age

American  

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) 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.


Bronze Age 1 British  

noun

  1. archaeol

    1. 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

    2. ( 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

bronze age 2 British  

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

"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

Bronze Age Scientific  
  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.

  2. See Note at Three Age system


Bronze Age Cultural  
  1. 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.


Etymology

Origin of Bronze Age

First recorded in 1860–65


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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

But for nearly 4,000 years, this Bronze Age polity was completely forgotten.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

"When I first discovered the Blyth Hoard, I was excited to have found more Bronze Age material in an area that I already knew was archaeologically significant," he said.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Having only ever found a silver coin while metal detecting, Idris Thomas was shocked to strike gold - a late Bronze Age gold bracelet which has been declared treasure.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Researchers believe the stones were transported and raised during the Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age, possibly around 2000 BC.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026

The explosion of technology since the Industrial Revolution impresses us today, but the medieval explosion was equally impressive compared with that of the Bronze Age, which in turn dwarfed that of the Upper Paleolithic.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

It consists of more than 60 bronze age objects, including 29 bracelets, 11 bowls, three bottles and other miscellaneous pieces.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Finally, from 5,000 years ago, the Corded Ware people expanded out of the Russian steppe to inaugurate the European bronze age.

From Science Daily ● May 30, 2026

No comparably detailed carvings have been found from the Aegean bronze age.

From National Geographic ● Nov. 7, 2017

I doubt that any bronze age warriors fought naked.

From New York Times ● Nov. 6, 2017

From that moment, the bronze age of Britain set in—say some 1,000 or 1,500 years before the Christian era.

From Science in Arcady by Grant Allen

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