plateau

American  

[pla-toh, plat-oh] / plæˈtoʊ, ˈplæt oʊ /

noun

plural

plateaus, plateaux

1. a land area having a relatively level surface considerably raised above adjoining land on at least one side, and often cut by deep canyons.

2. a period or state of little or no growth or decline.

   to reach a plateau in one's career.

3. Psychology. a period of little or no apparent progress in an individual's learning, marked by an inability to increase speed, reduce number of errors, etc., and indicated by a horizontal stretch in a learning curve or graph.

4. a flat stand, as for a centerpiece, sometimes extending the full length of a table.

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verb (used without object)

plateaued, plateauing

1. to reach a state or level of little or no growth or decline, especially to stop increasing or progressing; remain at a stable level of achievement; level off.

   After a period of uninterrupted growth, sales began to plateau.

verb (used with object)

plateaued, plateauing

1. to cause to remain at a stable level, especially to prevent from rising or progressing.

   Rising inflation plateaued sales income.

plateau ¹ British  

/ ˈplætəʊ /

noun

1. a wide mainly level area of elevated land

2. a relatively long period of stability; levelling off

   the rising prices reached a plateau

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verb

1. to remain at a stable level for a relatively long period

Plateau ² British  

/ ˈplætəʊ /

noun

1. a state of central Nigeria, formed in 1976 from part of Benue-Plateau State: tin mining. Capital: Jos. Pop: 3 178 712 (2006). Area: 30 913 sq km (11 936 sq miles)

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plateau Scientific  

/ plă-tō′ /

1. An elevated, comparatively level expanse of land. Plateaus make up about 45 percent of the Earth's land surface.

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Etymology

Origin of plateau

1785–95; < French; Old French platel flat object, diminutive of plat plate ¹

Example Sentences

With production growth expected to plateau by the end of the decade, U.S. energy companies are increasingly weighing longer-lived supply sources.

From MarketWatch

For women, testosterone starts to decrease between the ages of 20 and 40 before it plateaus as they enter menopause.

From BBC

Some say it’s a sign of things to come, while others suggest it’s merely a brief price plateau and rents will rise again this year.

From Los Angeles Times

The S&P 500 has plateaued, with non-tech sectors like consumer staples and energy seeing strong gains of 4%+ over the past week.

From Barron's

Electricity production growth slowed in the 1970s and essentially plateaued in the 1990s.

From Barron's

Related Words

• elevation
• highland
• plain