ice age

noun, Geology

(often initial capital letters) the glacial epoch, especially the Pleistocene Epoch.

Origin

1870-75

British Dictionary definitions for ice ages

noun

another name for glacial period

ice ages in Science

ice age

Any of several cold periods during which glaciers covered much of the Earth.
Ice Age. The most recent glacial period, which occurred during the Pleistocene Epoch and ended about 10,000 years ago. During the Pleistocene Ice Age, great sheets of ice up to two miles thick covered most of Greenland, Canada, and the northern United States as well as northern Europe and Russia.

ice ages in Culture

Periods in the history of the Earth when large glaciers covered much of the surface of the continents.

Note: The last ice age ended less than twenty thousand years ago.

Note: Scientists believe that there will be more ice ages in the future, caused by tiny changes in the Earth's orbit and rotation.