plateau

American  

[pla-toh, plat-oh] / plæˈtoʊ, ˈplæt oʊ /

noun

plural

plateaus, plateaux

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

2. a period or state of little or no growth or decline.

   to reach a plateau in one's career.

3. 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.

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

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verb (used without object)

plateaued, plateauing

1. 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)

plateaued, plateauing

1. to cause to remain at a stable level, especially to prevent from rising or progressing.

   Rising inflation plateaued sales income.

plateau ¹ British  

/ ˈplætəʊ /

noun

1. a wide mainly level area of elevated land

2. a relatively long period of stability; levelling off

   the rising prices reached a plateau

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verb

1. to remain at a stable level for a relatively long period

Plateau ² British  

/ ˈplætəʊ /

noun

1. 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)

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plateau Scientific  

/ plă-tō′ /

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

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Etymology

Origin of plateau

1785–95; < French; Old French platel flat object, diminutive of plat plate ¹

Example Sentences

Chinese tech giant Huawei's revenue growth slowed last year, its annual report showed Tuesday, as sales of the company's consumer devices plateaued against a backdrop of sluggish domestic consumption.

From Barron's

Naturalist Stephen Boyes believes massive elephants live undetected on a remote plateau in Angola; they’d be descendants of a giant pachyderm hunted and killed 70 years ago that now resides in the Smithsonian.

From Los Angeles Times

It has been a bumpy road for the electric vehicle market as declining federal support and plateauing public interest have eaten away at sales.

From Los Angeles Times

Not with another four years on his contract, a current buyout price of $22.5 million and now a not-terrible finish to this strange season of all peaks and valleys and no plateaus.

From Los Angeles Times

Specialists from Charmouth and Weymouth fire stations were then summoned to help lower the dog owner down to the wide plateau.

From BBC

Related Words

• elevation
• highland
• plain