ice age

noun

1
: a time of widespread glaciation
2
Ice Age : the Pleistocene glacial epoch

Examples of ice age in a Sentence

changes that occurred during the last ice age
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Ocean iron fertilization grew from the idea that iron-rich dust blown across the oceans during past ice ages fed blooms of phytoplankton, helping to lower atmospheric CO₂. — Alec Luhn, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026 The road had been graded and guard-railed in the 1920s, on top of an older road that people had been walking since the last ice age, for all one can know. — James Whorton Jr, Longreads, 13 Oct. 2026 With methane—a potent greenhouse gas—ousted from the atmosphere, and the creation of the UV-protective ozone layer (which still shields us from the sun’s rays today), the Earth began to cool and experienced one of its earliest ice ages. — Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2026 The ecological consequences of losing what remains Some coastal old-growth stands on Vancouver Island have not experienced a major disturbance since the end of the last ice age some 12,000 years ago. — Annika Hammerschlag, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ice age

Word History

First Known Use

1855, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ice age was in 1855

Rhymes for ice age

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Browse Nearby Words

ICE
ice age
ice anchor
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Cite this Entry

“Ice age.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ice%20age. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Kids Definition

ice age

noun
1
: a time of widespread glaciation
2
capitalized I&A : the most recent such period in the earth's past

More from Merriam-Webster on ice age

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about ice age

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