hanging wall
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noun
Geology. a mass of rock overhanging a fault plane.
Nearby words
hanging post, hanging scroll, hanging step, hanging stile, hanging valley, hanging wall, hangingfly, hangman, hangman's fracture, hangman's knot, hangnail
Origin of hanging wall
First recorded in 1770–80
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for hanging wall
The two fault faces are known as the “hanging-wall” and the “foot-wall.”
British Dictionary definitions for hanging wall
hanging wall
noun
the rocks on the upper side of an inclined fault plane or mineral veinCompare footwall
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
Science definitions for hanging wall
hanging wall
The block of rock lying above an inclined geologic fault plane. See more at fault. Compare footwall.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.