plateau

[ pla-toh or, especially British, plat-oh ]

/ plæˈtoʊ or, especially British, ˈplæt oʊ /

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See synonyms for: plateau / plateaus on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural pla·teaus, pla·teaux

[pla-tohz or, especially British, plat-ohz]. /plæˈtoʊz or, especially British, ˈplæt oʊz/.

a land area having a relatively level surface considerably raised above adjoining land on at least one side, and often cut by deep canyons.

a period or state of little or no growth or decline: to reach a plateau in one's career.

Psychology. a period of little or no apparent progress in an individual's learning, marked by an inability to increase speed, reduce number of errors, etc., and indicated by a horizontal stretch in a learning curve or graph.

a flat stand, as for a centerpiece, sometimes extending the full length of a table.

verb (used without object), pla·teaued, pla·teau·ing.

to reach a state or level of little or no growth or decline, especially to stop increasing or progressing; remain at a stable level of achievement; level off: After a period of uninterrupted growth, sales began to plateau.

verb (used with object), pla·teaued, pla·teau·ing.

to cause to remain at a stable level, especially to prevent from rising or progressing: Rising inflation plateaued sales income.

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Origin of plateau

1785–95; <French; Old French platel flat object, diminutive of platplate¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use plateau in a sentence

Built about 3,000 years ago and featuring a 1,400-meter-long rectangular plateau with a platform longer than four American football fields, the discovery shows that the Maya civilization built big from its beginnings.
2020’s science superlatives include the oldest, highest and grossest discoveries|Erika Engelhaupt|December 30, 2020|Science News
“I would characterize these results as the city basically hitting a plateau and still not getting reductions from regional or local actions,” Capretz wrote in an email.
Morning Report: Looking Back on the Tech Boondoggles of 2020|Voice of San Diego|December 29, 2020|Voice of San Diego
The effects of those rules on the kickoff appear to have reached a plateau.
Why Are We Still Returning Kicks In College Football?|Jake Lourim|December 11, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Our reward is camp, a garden of boulders, juniper, rabbit brush and shadscale across from a mezzanine overlooking a colossal basin of canyons and plateaus, ripples and folds, castles and kingdoms.
On mountain bikes in the Utah desert, a college reunion like no other|John Briley|November 20, 2020|Washington Post

Instead, most winners saw their performance plateau in the season after winning Most Improved Player.
Do The WNBA’s Most Improved Players Keep Up Their Success?|Jenn Hatfield|October 20, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
In 2009, the overall consumption of French beer plateaued at about 20 million hectoliters per year.
Look Out! There’s a Craft-Beer Revolution Taking Over France|Jeff Campagna|December 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
After a heroin epidemic swept the nation in the 1970s, the numbers plateaued.
Behind the Krokodil Panic|Abby Haglage|November 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
With a dearth of planets in your sign, it may feel like life has plateaued.
The Stars Predict Your Week|Starsky + Cox|October 9, 2011|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for plateau (1 of 2)

plateau

/ (ˈplætəʊ) /

noun plural -eaus or -eaux (-əʊz)

a wide mainly level area of elevated land

a relatively long period of stability; levelling offthe rising prices reached a plateau

verb (intr)

to remain at a stable level for a relatively long period

Word Origin for plateau

C18: from French, from Old French platel something flat, from plat flat; see plate

British Dictionary definitions for plateau (2 of 2)

Plateau

/ (ˈplætəʊ) /

noun

a state of central Nigeria, formed in 1976 from part of Benue-Plateau State: tin mining. Capital: Jos. Pop: 3 178 712 (2006). Area: 30 913 sq km (11 936 sq miles)

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

Scientific definitions for plateau

plateau

[ plă-tō′ ]

An elevated, comparatively level expanse of land. Plateaus make up about 45 percent of the Earth's land surface.

plateau

Origin of plateau

Words related to plateau

How to use plateau in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for plateau (1 of 2)

Word Origin for plateau

British Dictionary definitions for plateau (2 of 2)

Scientific definitions for plateau