01 a. Having the qualities of chalk; abounding with chalk; chalky; as, cretaceous rocks and formations. See Chalk.
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1.
Having the qualities of chalk; abounding with chalk; chalky; as, cretaceous rocks and formations. See Chalk. See: Chalk
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2.
Of, pertaining to, or designating, the period of time following the Jurassic and preceding the Paleogene. See Cretaceous period below.(Geol.)
Phrases & compounds
Cretaceous acid —
an old name for carbonic acid.
Cretaceous formation —
the series of strata of various kinds, including beds of chalk, green sand, etc., formed in the Cretaceous period; -- called also the chalk formation. See the Diagram under Geology.
Cretaceous period —
the time in the latter part of the Mesozoic age during which the Cretaceous formation was deposited.