- of, denoting, or relating to an era of geological time that began 250 000 000 years ago with the Triassic period and lasted about 185 000 000 years until the end of the Cretaceous period
- the Mesozoic ⇒ the Mesozoic era
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
Mes•o•zo•ic
(mez′ə zō′ik, mes′-, mē′zə-, -sə-),USA pronunciation [Geol.]
adj.
n.
adj.
- Geologynoting or pertaining to an era occurring between 230 and 65 million years ago, characterized by the appearance of flowering plants and by the appearance and extinction of dinosaurs. See table under geologic time.
n.
- Geologythe Mesozoic Era or group of systems.
- meso- + zo- + -ic 1830–40
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
Mesozoic /ˌmɛsəʊˈzəʊɪk/ adj
'Mesozoic' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
ammonite
- belemnite
- Cretaceous
- dinosaur
- ichthyosaur
- Jurassic
- reptile
- Triassic
- tuatara
- pantothere
- Phanerozoic
- phytosaur
- post-Mesozoic
- Tethys