plateau
[ pla-toh or, especially British, plat-oh ]
/ plæˈtoʊ or, especially British, ˈplæt oʊ /
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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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use plateau in a sentence
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.