tectonic plates
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The plates are not the same as the continents. The North American plate, for example, extends from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean to the west coast of the United States and Canada. These plates are about thirty miles thick.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Eastern Africa's Turkana Rift is known both for its rich record of early human fossils and for intense volcanic activity driven by shifting tectonic plates.
From Science Daily • Apr. 25, 2026
“Some of the larger risks are much like tectonic plates, always moving and periodically causing earthquakes and volcanoes when they crash into each other,” he said.
From Barron's • Apr. 6, 2026
As the tectonic plates shifted, the crust in this region was pulled apart and fractured, opening progressively from east to west, much like a zipper being undone.
From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2026
He said "the old order isn't coming back," adding: "The tectonic plates have shifted. There is profound change".
From BBC • Jan. 23, 2026
The puzzle pieces, called tectonic plates, sit on the asthenosphere, a layer of Earth that shifts and flows.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
