Cretaceous
adjective
Cre·ta·ceous
kri-ˈtā-shəs 
: of, relating to, or being the last period of the Mesozoic era characterized by continued dominance of reptiles, emergent dominance of angiosperms, diversification of mammals, and the extinction of many types of organisms at the close of the period
also
: of, relating to, or being the corresponding system of rocks see Geologic Time Table
Cretaceous
noun
Examples of Cretaceous in a Sentence
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The day length might have been 19 hours for about one billion years during the Proterozoic (2.5 billion to 541 million years ago), and Late Cretaceous dinosaurs might have experienced 23.5-hour days.
—
Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 July 2025
There is not enough of the fossil to determine its species, but this rare find helps fill in a picture of the ecosystem during the Cretaceous period in what’s now Denver, said Dr. James Hagadorn, the museum’s curator of geology.
—Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 17 July 2025
Also up for auction was a Ceratosaurus skeleton from the late Jurassic period, about 154 to 149 million years ago, which was sold for $26 million, and the skull of a Pachycephalosaurus from the late Cretaceous period 72 million to 66 million years ago for $1.4 million.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 16 July 2025
The bones were found in rock from the Late Cretaceous period, and are dated to be around 67.5 million years ago.
—Julia Gomez, USA Today, 12 July 2025
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Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 July 2025
There is not enough of the fossil to determine its species, but this rare find helps fill in a picture of the ecosystem during the Cretaceous period in what’s now Denver, said Dr. James Hagadorn, the museum’s curator of geology.
—Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 17 July 2025
Also up for auction was a Ceratosaurus skeleton from the late Jurassic period, about 154 to 149 million years ago, which was sold for $26 million, and the skull of a Pachycephalosaurus from the late Cretaceous period 72 million to 66 million years ago for $1.4 million.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 16 July 2025
The bones were found in rock from the Late Cretaceous period, and are dated to be around 67.5 million years ago.
—Julia Gomez, USA Today, 12 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for Cretaceous
Cite this Entry
“Cretaceous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Cretaceous. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Cretaceous
adjective
Cre·ta·ceous
kri-ˈtā-shəs
: of, relating to, or being the last period of the Mesozoic era of geological history marked by the extinction of the dinosaurs at the close of the period
also
: relating to the corresponding system of rocks see geologic time
Cretaceous
noun
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