angle of repose

American  

noun

Geology.

1. the maximum slope, measured in degrees from the horizontal, at which loose solid material will remain in place without sliding.

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angle of repose British  

noun

1. the maximum angle to the horizontal at which rocks, soil, etc, will remain without sliding

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Etymology

Origin of angle of repose

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

Considering that this basin of ours is encircled by mountains, and mountains keep leaning toward their angle of repose even without any help from earthquakes, it’s not surprising that gold makes repeated appearances.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2025

The result, says Gilchrist, is cohesion that generates a negative angle of repose due to a negative coefficient of friction.

From Science Daily • Sep. 20, 2023

What does it say when one of the country’s most visible feminists chooses not to lean in on that day, but instead strikes an angle of repose?

From New York Times • Nov. 23, 2018

The researchers interpret this as a sign that the RSL are not formed by water—which would flow down shallower slopes—but rather are dry flows of sand and dust seeking their natural angle of repose.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 22, 2017

Cones made of fragments may have sides as steep as the angle of repose, which in the case of coarse scoria is sometimes as high as thirty or forty degrees.

From The Elements of Geology by Norton, William Harmon