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.
The lake was formed by glaciers during the last ice age more than 10,000 years ago. — Taryn White, Travel + Leisure, 21 May 2026 And later, when water levels dropped, tectonics shifted, reefs grew, and the ice age locked away the planet’s water supplies into glaciers, and new faults thrust the land skyward to dry? — Literary Hub, 30 Apr. 2026 Early humans forged the tools during an ice age 146,000 years ago, not during the relative ease of a warm period. — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 7 May 2026 Bison—survivors of ice ages and near extinction, to later become our national animal—wander freely at the whims of the matriarch cow bison that lead the cow-calf groups. — Robert Annis, Midwest Living, 14 May 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

See All Rhymes for ice age

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 7 Jul. 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

Nglish: Translation of ice age for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about ice age

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