Meanings
oxygen catastrophe1
plural oxygen catastrophes
- biologyAn event during the oxygenation event of Earth's past, where the level of free oxygen in the environment exceeds the tolerance levels of most extant anaerobic life.
Synonyms: oxygen crisis, oxygen holocaust, oxygenation crisis, oxygenation holocaust, oxygenation catastrophe
- biologySuch an event that theoretically occurs elsewhere, away from Earth.
Oxygen Catastrophe2
- Synonym of Great Oxygenation Event.
Synonyms: Great Oxygenation Event
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn event during the oxygenation event of Earth's past, where the level of free oxygen in the environment exceeds the tolerance levels of most extant anaerobic life.
proper nounSynonym of Great Oxygenation Event.
Origin
From oxygen + catastrophe. From the accumulation of atmospheric oxygen, which was toxic to the anaerobic organisms existing at the time. This process led to a widespread extinction of those life forms.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 大氧化事件
- 大氧化事件 (Dà Yǎnghuà Shìjiàn)specific event in Earth's past
French Catastrophe de l'oxygène, Crise de l'oxygène
- Catastrophe de l'oxygènespecific event in Earth's past
- Crise de l'oxygènespecific event in Earth's past
- Grande oxydationspecific event in Earth's past
- Grande Oxydationspecific event in Earth's past
- Grande oxygénationspecific event in Earth's past
- Grande Oxygénationspecific event in Earth's past
- catastrophe de l'oxygènegeneric event
- crise de l'oxygènegeneric event
Polish katastrofa tlenowa, katastrofa tlenowa
- katastrofa tlenowaspecific event in Earth's past
- katastrofa tlenowageneric event
Cite this entry
oxygen catastrophe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oxygen%20catastrophe
“oxygen catastrophe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oxygen%20catastrophe. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oxygen catastrophe,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oxygen%20catastrophe.
Source: oxygen catastrophe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.