English Reference

Word

jurassic

Phoneticsjuras·sic

/dʒʊˈɹæsɪk/

Definitions

01geological period

B2 · Science

adj. relating to the time between 200 and 145 million years ago when dinosaurs were the main animals on Earth.

adj. pertaining to the second period of the Mesozoic era, occurring between the Triassic and Cretaceous periods.

“The museum has a large collection of fossils from the Jurassic period.”

“Geologists identified specific limestone layers as Jurassic by analyzing the unique ammonite fossils embedded within the rock strata.”

Technical

Usage

Usually capitalized when referring to the specific geological time period.

Synonyms

02old-fashioned

C1

adj. very old-fashioned or out of date, like something from a long time ago.

adj. extremely outdated, obsolete, or old-fashioned in a way that suggests being a relic of a past era.

“My dad's mobile phone is practically Jurassic; it doesn't even have a camera.”

“The company's IT infrastructure was Jurassic, relying on legacy systems that had not been updated since the late nineties.”

Informal · Humorous

03the time period

C1 · Science

n. the specific time in Earth's history when dinosaurs lived.

n. the geological period from approximately 201 to 145 million years ago.

“Many famous dinosaurs, like the Stegosaurus, lived during the Jurassic.”

“The Jurassic was characterized by a warm, wet climate that allowed lush vegetation and giant reptiles to thrive across the supercontinent.”

Technical

Etymology

Borrowed from French Jurassique, named for the discovery and type location in the Jura Mountains of Switzerland.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Domain

Geology

This entry

Level
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

Scan code

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