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Stone Age

American  

noun

  1. the period in the history of humankind, preceding the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, and marked by the use of stone implements and weapons: subdivided into the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods.


Stone Age British  

noun

  1. a period in human culture identified by the use of stone implements and usually divided into the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic stages

"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

  1. (sometimes not capitals) of or relating to this period

    stone-age man

"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
Stone Age Scientific  
  1. The earliest known period of human culture, marked by the use of stone tools.

  2. See Mesolithic Neolithic Paleolithic See Note at Three Age system


Stone Age Cultural  
  1. A period encompassing all of human history, perhaps several million years, before the Bronze Age. In the Stone Age, people learned to make and use stone tools and weapons.


Etymology

Origin of Stone Age

First recorded in 1860–65

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.

See Examples For:

The Stone Age characters say things such as “Omygod” and “Wow, that’s pretty ballsy.”

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 29, 2026

These periods span parts of the Stone Age and early metalworking eras, thousands of years before modern civilization.

From Science Daily Jul. 5, 2026

After bonding over a mutual appreciation for Queens of the Stone Age, Gatto joined Xcomm in late 2023.

From Los Angeles Times May 21, 2026

Across the country, their fighters have joined private looters in stripping museums of valuable artifacts chronicling the country’s history from the Stone Age to the rise of Islam.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 24, 2026

What brought the Old Stone Age to a close has been termed the Neolithic Revolution.

From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson

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