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• plateau
  plateau

  noun

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

  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)

plateau

American  

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

noun

plateaus, plural plateaux plural

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

Explanation

A plateau is a high, flat area of land. The word has also been stretched to include a leveling off of progress. At first the children at the sleepover were running wild, but then their energy level reached a plateau. You can see the word plate inside plateau. Think flat like a plate, or think about mountains that look like tables you could set with plates — so flat the plates won't fall off. If you're a French speaker, this will be easier, as plateau derives from the French plat, "level."

Example Sentences

The misalignment generally has been easing since 2023 as home price growth slows, mortgage rates plateau and incomes keep rising.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 24, 2026

Crucially, eloralintide provides an alternative for patients who struggle to tolerate GLP-1 side effects or have reached a plateau with existing treatment.

From Barron's • Apr. 27, 2026

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 • Mar. 24, 2026

The second site lies on the plateau above Juventae Chasma, a 5-km-deep canyon located just north of Valles Marineris.

From Science Daily • Mar. 10, 2026

Before Taran could turn and thank Medwyn, the white-bearded man disappeared, as if the hills had swallowed him up; and the travelers stood by themselves on a rocky, windswept plateau.

From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander

Related Words

• elevation
• highland
• plain