geologic time

noun

: the long period of time occupied by the earth's geologic history
geologic time table

Examples of geologic time in a Sentence

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.
Five million years is an eyeblink in geologic time. — Peter Brannen, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025 The Moon has no meaningful atmosphere, and its surface is frozen in geologic time. — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 9 Apr. 2026 For Rebillard, the fossil is also proof that all three prey species not only lived together in the same geologic time but also died together in the same week or even day. — Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 18 Feb. 2026 Over geologic time, meteorite hits on the lunar landscape have stirred up the fluffy regolith, with He-3 being distributed down to several meters in depth. — Leonard David, Space.com, 30 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for geologic time

Word History

First Known Use

1861, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of geologic time was in 1861

Rhymes for geologic time

See All Rhymes for geologic time

Browse Nearby Words

geologic thermometer
geologic time
geologist
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Geologic time.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/geologic%20time. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

geologic time

noun
: the long period of time marked by events in the earth's geological history
geologic time table

More from Merriam-Webster on geologic time

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about geologic time

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All