Geological time period (3)
I believe the answer is:
era
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">geological time period</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(I've seen this in another clue)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is all the clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for era that I've seen before include "Are involved in time span" , "Age marked by a distinctive character" , "Epoch, period" , "Stage" , "Long historical period" .)