syncline
Americannoun
noun
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A fold of rock layers that slope upward on both sides of a common low point. Synclines form when rocks are compressed by plate-tectonic forces. They can be as small as the side of a cliff or as large as an entire valley.
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Compare anticline
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Etymology
Origin of syncline
First recorded in 1870–75; back formation from synclinal
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Example Sentences
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Folds are classified into five categories: anticline, syncline, monocline, dome, and basin.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017
An upward fold is called an anticline, while a downward fold is called a syncline.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
An anticline or syncline is described as symmetrical if the angles between each of limb and the axial plane are generally similar, and asymmetrical if they are not.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
If the axial plane is sufficiently tilted that the beds on one side have been tilted past vertical, the fold is known as an overturned anticline or syncline.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
Hence the anticline noses out to the north and the syncline to the south.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 5 "Fleury, Claude" to "Foraker" by Various
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.
