Miocene

[ mahy-uh-seen ]

/ ˈmaɪ əˌsin /

Geology

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adjective

noting or pertaining to an epoch of the Tertiary Period, occurring from 25 to 10 million years ago, when grazing mammals became widespread.

noun

the Miocene Epoch or Series.

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Origin of Miocene

First recorded in 1825–35; mio- (from Greek meíōn “less”) + -cene

OTHER WORDS FROM Miocene

post-Mi·o·cene, adjective

Words nearby Miocene

minx, Minya, Minyades, minyan, Minyas, Miocene, miombo, miosis, miotic, MIP, Miphiboseth

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

How to use Miocene in a sentence

The ursids roamed the forested and swampy areas of Europe nearly 6 million years ago in the Miocene epoch.
Pandas weren’t always bamboo fiends|Jocelyn Solis-Moreira|August 1, 2022|Popular-Science
Since the flat was discovered, paleontologists have catalogued more than 2,000 fossils from the Miocene, an epoch that stretches from 23 to 5 million years ago.
Feast your eyes on exquisite fossils from an ancient rainforest (and more)|Shi En Kim|January 14, 2022|Popular-Science
The new tardigrade fossil, Paradoryphoribius chronocaribbeus, dates back to the Miocene, about 16 million years ago.
Scientists discovered an extremely rare tardigrade fossil trapped in Dominican amber|Hannah Seo|October 6, 2021|Popular-Science
It may have been as far back as the early Pliocene or the late Miocene Period, or even earlier.
Man And His Ancestor|Charles Morris

Seemingly chipped stones have been found that belong to the remote Miocene geological age.
Man And His Ancestor|Charles Morris
The present physical geography of considerable parts of Britain must date from Miocene times.
The Principles of Stratigraphical Geology|J. E. Marr
Disturbances culminating in Miocene times once more produced terrestrial conditions.
The Principles of Stratigraphical Geology|J. E. Marr
This accounts for the fact that it contains remains of Miocene animals, such as teeth of the Hipparion, or ancestor of the horse.
Makers of British Botany; a collection of biographies by living botanists|Various

British Dictionary definitions for Miocene

Miocene

/ (ˈmaɪəˌsiːn) /

adjective

of, denoting, or formed in the fourth epoch of the Tertiary period, between the Oligocene and Pliocene epochs, which lasted for 19 million years

noun

the Miocene this epoch or rock series

Word Origin for Miocene

C19: from Greek meiōn less + -cene

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 Miocene

Miocene

[ mī′ə-sēn′ ]

The fourth epoch of the Tertiary Period, from about 24 to 5 million years ago. During this time the climate was warmer than it had been in the Oligocene, and kelp forests and grasslands first developed. With the isolation of Antarctica, a circumpolar ocean current was established in the southern Hemisphere, reducing the amount of mixing of cold polar water and warm equatorial water and causing a buildup of ice sheets in Antarctica. The African-Arabian plate became connected to Asia, closing the seaway which had previously separated Africa from Asia. Mammalian diversity was at its peak. See Chart at geologic time.