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overthrust

[oh-ver-thruhst]
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noun Geology.
  1. a thrust fault with a low dip and a large slip.
  2. a thrust fault in which the hanging wall was the one that moved (opposed to underthrust).
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Origin of overthrust

First recorded in 1880–85; over- + thrust
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for overthrust

Historical Examples

  • Of course I am here taking the record just as I find it, as I have already discussed this matter of "overthrust folds."

    Illogical Geology

    George McCready Price

  • This cliff under usit must be three thousand feet down to the shale slidewas the front edge of the overthrust.

    Boy Scouts in Glacier Park

    Walter Prichard Eaton

British Dictionary definitions for overthrust

overthrust

noun
  1. geology a reverse fault in which the rocks on the upper surface of a fault plane have moved over the rocks on the lower surfaceCompare underthrust
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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