Mesozoic

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

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

Geology

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.

Origin of Mesozoic

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

Related formspost-Mes·o·zo·ic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mesozoic

So important are these beds in China, that had geology originated in that country, the Mesozoic might have been our age of coal.
The Story of the Earth and Man|J. W. Dawson
Dipnoans and marsipobranchs were there, too, in all probability, but teleosteans do not appear until the Mesozoic period.
The Origin of Vertebrates|Walter Holbrook Gaskell
Hence many of its forms are archaic; its mammalian fauna, for instance, is still in the Mesozoic stage.
Evolution|Joseph Le Conte
In the atmosphere the flying dragons of the Mesozoic give place to birds and bats.
The Elements of Geology|William Harmon Norton

The Mesozoic time certainly terminated with the Cretaceous, and what follows belongs to a distinct aeon.
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

Word Origin and History for mesozoic

Mesozoic

adj.

1840, from Greek mesos "middle" (see meso-) + zoe "life" (see zoo) + -ic. Name coined by British geologist John Phillips for the fossil era "between" the Paleozoic and the Cenozoic.

Science 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.