What does "epoch" mean?
A particular period of history, or of a person's life, especially one considered noteworthy or remarkable.
Epoch
/ˈɛp.ək/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A particular period of history, or of a person's life, especially one considered noteworthy or remarkable.
- Grammar: epoch is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: era, aeon, aeons, age.
- Useful contrasts: destination, end point, instant.
- Usage evidence: There have always been fashionable faces and expressions which marked an epoch.
How to use "epoch"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "epoch" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "epoch" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "epoch" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "epoch" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "epoch" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "era" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "epoch", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A particular period of history, or of a person's life, especially one considered noteworthy or remarkable.
"I grew bitter in my words—I believed the worst of everyone; nay, I sometimes doubted the affection of my kind, my indulgent parents. But let me hastily pass over this vain and profitless epoch,—the fierce tempest, and the weary calm, were but the appointed means by which I reached the harbour of faith and rest."
- 2 An intensive chemotherapy regimen for treating aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma, consisting of etoposide, prednisolone, Oncovin (vincristine), cyclophosphamide, and hydroxydaunorubicin. uncountable
- 3 a unit of geological time that is a subdivision of a period and is itself divided into ages wordnet
- 4 A notable event which marks the beginning of such a period.
- 5 a period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event wordnet
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A specific instant in time, chosen as the point of reference or zero value of a system that involves identifying instants of time.
"UNIX epoch; J2000 epoch"
- 7 (astronomy) an arbitrarily fixed date that is the point in time relative to which information (as coordinates of a celestial body) is recorded wordnet
- 8 A geochronologic unit of hundreds of thousands to millions of years; a subdivision of a period, and subdivided into ages (or sometimes subepochs).
"Now during the time of the glacial epoch the greatest distance of the sun in winter was 98¼ millions of miles, whereas it is now, in winter, only 91½ millions of miles, the mean distance being taken as 93 million miles."
- 9 One complete presentation of the training data set to an iterative machine learning algorithm.
"The neural network was trained over 500 epochs."
Verb
- 1 To divide (data) into segments by time period. transitive
"The continuous data were epoched into segments of 1500 ms (starting 500 ms before visual stimulus onset), time-locked to stimulus onset (0 ms) and sorted according to experimental conditions."
Antonyms
Example
"There have always been fashionable faces and expressions which marked an epoch."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "epoch"?
Common synonyms include: era, aeon, aeons, age, age, age of change.
How do you use "epoch" in a sentence?
There have always been fashionable faces and expressions which marked an epoch.
How do you pronounce "epoch"?
Pronounced /ˈɛp.ək/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Medieval Latin epocha, from Ancient Greek ἐποχή (epokhḗ, “a check, cessation, stop, pause, epoch of a star, i.e., the point at which it seems to halt after reaching the highest, and generally the place of a star; hence, a historical epoch”), from ἐπέχω (epékhō, “I hold in, check”), from ἐπι- (epi-, “upon”) + ἔχω (ékhō, “I have, hold”). Doublet of epoche.
Etymology 2
Acronym, from the initial letters of the various drugs.