Meaning & use
Eocene
Last updated
Meanings
proper nounpropertechnical
The geological epoch that ran from roughly 56 to 34 million years ago, a warm period when many modern groups of mammals first appeared.
Grammar: Used with the: the Eocene, and usually capitalized.
Patterns
- in the Eocene
Early whales were evolving in warm seas during the Eocene.
Fossils of tiny horses date from the Eocene.
Palm trees grew near the poles in the Eocene.
adjectivebefore a nountechnical
Belonging to or formed during that epoch.
Grammar: Placed before a noun: Eocene rocks.
The museum displays an Eocene fish preserved in limestone.
Eocene deposits in Wyoming are rich in fossils.
Scientists compare Eocene climate data with modern warming.
Common combinations
- the Eocene epoch
- The Eocene epoch was warmer than today.
- Eocene fossils
- Eocene fossils were found in the riverbank.
- during the Eocene
- Grasslands were still rare during the Eocene.
- Eocene climate
- The Eocene climate had no polar ice caps.
- Eocene mammals
- Eocene mammals included early primates and bats.
Word family
Commonly confused: Eocene or Pliocene? Eocene or Holocene?
Eocene vs Pliocene
The Pliocene is a much more recent epoch, ending about 2.6 million years ago, and should not be mixed up with the far older Eocene.
Eocene vs Holocene
The Holocene is the present epoch, covering roughly the last 11,700 years.
Practice
Which statement about the Eocene is most accurate?
Choose one answer.
The Eocene was a warm epoch about 56 to 34 million years ago. It came before the Oligocene, not after, and long before humans.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Eocene”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.