fault line

SEE SYNONYMS FOR fault line ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Geology.

the intersection of a fault with the surface of the earth or other plane of reference.

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Origin of fault line

First recorded in 1865–70

Words nearby fault line

faulkner, william, faulknerian, fault, fault block, fault breccia, fault line, fault plane, fault scarp, fault tree, fault zone, fault-finding
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to fault line

rift, break, crack, fault, fracture, split

Example sentences from the Web for fault line

  • There is, moreover, evidence of actual compression of the earth's crust at right angles to the fault-line.

    A Study of Recent Earthquakes|Charles Davison

British Dictionary definitions for fault line

fault line

noun

Also called: fault plane geology the surface of a fault fracture along which the rocks have been displaced
a potentially disruptive division or area of contentionEurope remains the main fault line in the Tory Party
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