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  era
• ERA
  ERA

  abbreviation

  earned run average.

era

¹ American  

[eer-uh, er-uh] / ˈɪər ə, ˈɛr ə /

noun

• eras
  plural

1. 1. a period of time marked by distinctive character, events, etc..

      The use of steam for power marked the beginning of an era.

   2. Slang. a period of time in a person’s life characterized by something distinctive and noticeable, such as a particular emotional state, relationship, achievement, or interest.

      She’s started wearing all black now that she’s in her sad girl era.

      They are definitely in their flop era and could use a complete makeover.

2. the period of time to which anything belongs or is to be assigned.

   She was born in the era of hansoms and gaslight.

3. a system of chronologic notation reckoned from a given date.

   The era of the Romans was based upon the time the city of Rome was founded.

4. a point of time from which succeeding years are numbered, as at the beginning of a system of chronology.

   Caesar died many years before our era.

5. a date or an event forming the beginning of any distinctive period.

   The year 1492 marks an era in world history.

6. Geology. a major division of geologic time composed of a number of periods.

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ERA ² American  

abbreviation

1. Baseball. earned run average.

2. Emergency Relief Administration.

3. Equal Rights Amendment: proposed 27th amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender.

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era ¹ British  

/ ˈɪərə /

noun

1. a period of time considered as being of a distinctive character; epoch

2. an extended period of time the years of which are numbered from a fixed point or event

   the Christian era

3. a point in time, esp one beginning a new or distinctive period

   the discovery of antibiotics marked an era in modern medicine

4. geology a major division of geological time, divided into several periods

   the Mesozoic era

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ERA ² British  

/ ˈiːrə /

acronym

1. (in Britain) Education Reform Act: the 1988 act which established the key elements of the National Curriculum

2. (in the US) Equal Rights Amendment: a proposed amendment to the US Constitution enshrining equality between the sexes

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era Scientific  

/ îr′ə /

1. A division of geologic time, longer than a period and shorter than an eon.

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Synonym Usage

See age.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• eras
  plural

Etymology

Origin of era

First recorded in 1605–15; from Late Latin aera “fixed date, era, epoch (from which time is reckoned),” probably special use of Latin aera “counters,” plural of aes “piece of metal, money, brass”; akin to Gothic aiz, Old English ār ore, Sanskrit ayas “metal”

Explanation

An era is a period of time distinguished by a particular character. “It was the Eisenhower era, when people were more willing to serve in the military.” Era has a couple of great things about it. First, it is used whenever you talk about dinosaurs to describe the various geologic time periods, for instance the Paleozoic Era, or the Jurassic Era. Second, it is a word beloved of crossword puzzle editors, so if you’re looking for a three-letter word for an age, look no further. Third, it sometimes confuses people who are talking about the ERA, or the Equal Rights Amendment, a vestige of the era of political feminism.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

era ERA eras

College football is supposed to be in its clarity era.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

Cue Ashley Williams, the centre-back described by Bellamy as Wales' "greatest captain" of the modern era.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

We’ve seen early reports of more entrepreneurship in the post-AI era.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

One of the first tests of this era of demographic promise was the 2014 governor’s race, when Greg Abbott ran for election against Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis.

From Slate ● Sep. 21, 2026

Indeed, Kepler gave the printing press a prominent place in the frontispiece to the Rudolphine tables, which celebrated the progress of astronomy from the ancient world to the modern era.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Luzardo has a 2.87 ERA across 29 starts this season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Percentage of fastballs that Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler throws in posting an American League-best 2.19 ERA.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

Díaz has only made 16 appearances for the Dodgers this season, recording an 11.85 ERA and 5.79 FIP.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

Schlittler has been a revelation this season, posting an American League-best 2.19 ERA to emerge as the Cy Young front-runner.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

At the end of the season, The Milwaukee Journal published the averages of all Major League players, and since this pitcher hadn’t played again, his ERA was 135, as I had calculated.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

By measuring that shift, astronomers can study hydrogen from different eras in cosmic history.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026

This “doesn’t mean nothing works. It just means different things work” in different eras.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

It's fine margins between Wenger and Mourinho, as both their arrivals brought the dawn of new eras in the Premier League.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

Their battles had come to define entire eras.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

A Pentagon official named Mort Halperin took charge of forming teams to study the various eras of American involvement in Vietnam, dating back to 1945.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

Related Words

• age
• cycle
• day
• generation
• stage
• term
• time