caveman stage

noun

The early or primitive developmental stage.

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Meanings

nouncaveman stage (plural caveman stages)

plural caveman stages

  1. The early or primitive developmental stage.

    So how does one evolve out of the caveman stage of conversation? Easy: Just talk.

    2019, Steven Jenkins, Erika Stalder, 97 Things to Do Before You Finish High School
    2 more examples

    What is life? What are the limitations of knowledge? Compared with the caveman's, our knowledge is vast, but compared with what there is to know, the wisest of men are still at the caveman stage.

    1942, The Living Church, volume 104

    The caveman stage of human existence might have arrived for us after the Flood wiped out almost everybody and everything.

    2011, William Gaspar, The World Tree

Origin

From the notion that early humans dwelled in caves. The word caveman has later developed figurative senses with a connotation of primitiveness.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

caveman stage. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/caveman%20stage

MLA

“caveman stage.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/caveman%20stage. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “caveman stage,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/caveman%20stage.

Source: caveman stage on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.