Holocene
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
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The more recent of the two epochs of the Quaternary Period, beginning at the end of the last major Ice Age, about 10,000 years ago. It is characterized by the development of human civilizations.
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Also called Recent
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See Chart at geologic time
Etymology
Origin of Holocene
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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.
This period, known as the middle Holocene, came thousands of years after the last Ice Age and was generally wetter than today.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
In the following years, that surprise broadened into a question: “What are so many dogs doing in the visual arts from the Holocene 12,000 years ago to the present?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Kikai last erupted 7,300 years ago in the most powerful eruption of the current geological epoch, the Holocene.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 29, 2026
"This discovery shows that the scale of impacts of small extraterrestrial objects on the Earth in the Holocene is far greater than previously recorded," said author Ming Chen.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 14, 2025
Soil erosion measurements indicate that it likely formed during the early-to-mid Holocene -- the geological interval that began at the end of the last ice age roughly 11,700 years ago.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 14, 2025
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
