Mesozoic

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

/ ˌmɛz əˈzoʊ ɪk, ˌmɛs-, ˌmi zə-, -sə- /

Geology

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adjective

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

the Mesozoic Era or group of systems.

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Origin of Mesozoic

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

OTHER WORDS FROM Mesozoic

post-Mes·o·zo·ic, adjective

Words nearby Mesozoic

mesotron, mesovarium, mesovortex, Mesozoa, mesozoan, Mesozoic, mesquite, mess, mess about, message, message board

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

How to use Mesozoic in a sentence

Finally, 66 million years ago, the Mesozoic ended in a cataclysmic bang.
Explainer: The age of dinosaurs|Beth Geiger|December 3, 2021|Science News For Students
The Mesozoic is sometimes called the Age of Dinosaurs, but plenty of other animals lived at that time, too.
These crocodile ancestors lived a two-legged life|Carolyn Gramling|July 23, 2020|Science News For Students
The Mesozoic systems are classified according to the method generally adopted.
The Principles of Stratigraphical Geology|J. E. Marr
Enaliosaurians ('sea-lizards'), a group of gigantic Mesozoic reptiles of which the ichthyosaurus and plesiosaurus were the chief.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia|Various

The case amounts almost to a demonstration if we compare with Dinosaurs their contemporaries, the Mesozoic birds.
Mythical Monsters|Charles Gould
The evidence furnished by Palozoic and Mesozoic formations points chiefly to mild, genial, and sometimes tropical conditions.
Geology|James Geikie
The next or closing period of this great Mesozoic time brought a wondrous change.
The Story of the Earth and Man|J. W. Dawson

British Dictionary definitions for Mesozoic

Mesozoic

/ (ˌmɛsəʊˈzəʊɪk) /

adjective

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

the Mesozoic the Mesozoic era

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 Mesozoic

Mesozoic

[ mĕz′ə-zō′ĭk ]

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. See Chart at geologic time.