transform fault

[ trans-fawrm fawlt ]

noun

, Geology, Oceanography.

1. a strike-slip fault that offsets a mid-ocean ridge in opposing directions on either side of the axis of seafloor spreading. Compare fracture zone.

transform fault

/ trăns′fôrm′ /

1. A type of strike-slip fault that accommodates the relative horizontal slip between other tectonic elements, such as tectonic plates, and is common along the edges of plates in mid-ocean ridge regions. The lateral displacement along transform faults often ends or changes form abruptly.
2. See Note at fault

Word History and Origins

Origin of transform fault¹

First recorded in 1970–75