downthrow
Americannoun
noun
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the state of throwing down or being thrown down
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geology the sinking of rocks on one side of a fault plane
Etymology
Origin of downthrow
First recorded in 1605–15; noun use of verb phrase throw down
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I hold a beast, an angel and a madman in me, and my enquiry is as to their working, and my problem is their subjugation and victory, downthrow and upheaval .
From Time Magazine Archive
A normal fault with a hade of 50 degrees, the original fault scarp worn away, showing cliffs caused by harder strata on the downthrow side.
From The Elements of Geology by William Harmon Norton
When the breath of creation first fashion'd fair France, Did the Spirit of Ill, in his downthrow appalling, Bruise the world, and thus hollow thy basin while falling?
From Lucile by Owen Meredith
In Figure 184 the right side has gone down relatively to the left; the right is the side of the downthrow, while the left is the side of the upthrow.
From The Elements of Geology by William Harmon Norton
A thrust fault with a hade of 30 degrees, showing cliffs due to harder strata outcropping on the downthrow.
From The Elements of Geology by William Harmon Norton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
