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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Folds are classified into five categories: anticline, syncline, monocline, dome, and basin.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017
A synform has the shape of a syncline but like an antiform, does not have distinguishable age zones.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017
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
An upward fold is called an anticline, while a downward fold is called a syncline.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
Thus we find that the ocean floor is depressed into a syncline along the western coast of South America; a trough always parallel to the ranges of the Andes.
From The Birth-Time of the World and Other Scientific Essays by Joly, John
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.
