prehistoric
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to the time or a period prior to recorded history.
The dinosaur is a prehistoric beast.
-
Slang. outdated; passé.
My mom has these prehistoric ideas about proper dress.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of prehistoric
Explanation
If while hiking, you see strange painting on a cliff, it may be rock art from prehistoric times, meaning something from the time before history was recorded. When you break down the word prehistoric, it’s easy to figure out what it means. The prefix pre-, means “before” and historic relates to something from a past culture. Put the two together, and you get prehistoric, a word that describes something that comes from a time before history was recorded. For example, Stonehenge is a prehistoric site, or the woolly mammoth is a prehistoric beast.
Vocabulary lists containing prehistoric
World Without Fish
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Earth Science - Middle School
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Earth Science: Geology
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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.
Dordogne is home to some of the best-known prehistoric art in Europe, including the paintings at Lascaux.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
This prehistoric creature has survived ice ages, the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs, and continental drift.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Elephants and mammoths were not common in prehistoric southern England.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
This place has an odd, accommodating kinship with these prehistoric monsters, a willingness to coexist rather than eliminate what would kill us.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
But there were also big overseas movements long before Columbus, and prehistoric replacements of non-European peoples by other non-European peoples.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
