crustal

American

[kruhs-tl] / ˈkrʌs tl /

adjective

of or relating to a crust, as of the earth.

crustal British

/ ˈkrʌstəl /

adjective

of or relating to the earth's crust

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of crustal

1855–60; < Latin crūst ( a ) shell, crust + -al ¹

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.

Researchers used computer simulations inspired by a geological process on Earth called crustal delamination.

From Science Daily

"The timing and rate of early crustal growth on Earth remains contentious due to the scarcity of very ancient rocks," Ms Boyce said.

From Science Daily

Further evidence for a north-to-south impact came from studying the moon's topography, crustal thickness, and surface chemistry.

From Science Daily

However, its crustal abundance is nearly 100 times that of Ru, indicating that these new electrocatalytic materials can be synthesized in sufficiently large amounts to enable hydrogen mass-production using water electrolyzers.

From Science Daily

On Earth, volcanism is driven primarily by heat and crustal recycling associated with plate tectonics, but Mars lacks plate tectonics and the driver of volcanism is not well understood.

From Science Daily

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023