GLACIAL PERIOD

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does glacial period mean? 

• GLACIAL PERIOD (noun)
  The noun GLACIAL PERIOD has 1 sense:

1. any period of time during which glaciers covered a large part of the earth's surface

  Familiarity information: GLACIAL PERIOD used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GLACIAL PERIOD (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any period of time during which glaciers covered a large part of the earth's surface

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Synonyms:

glacial epoch; glacial period; ice age

Context example:

the most recent ice age was during the Pleistocene

Hypernyms ("glacial period" is a kind of...):

geological period; period (a unit of geological time during which a system of rocks formed)

Holonyms ("glacial period" is a part of...):

prehistoric culture; prehistory (the time during the development of human culture before the appearance of the written word)

 Context examples 

A new, highly detailed ice core reveals a consistent pattern of climate changes that started in the Arctic and spread across the globe to the Antarctic during planet Earth's last glacial period, tens of thousands of years ago.

(Antarctic ice core reveals how sudden climate changes in North Atlantic moved south, NSF)