tectonic
Americanadjective
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of or relating to building or construction; constructive; architectural.
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Geology.
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pertaining to the structure of the earth's crust.
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referring to the forces or conditions within the earth that cause movements of the crust.
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designating the results of such movements.
tectonic valleys.
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adjective
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denoting or relating to construction or building
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geology
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(of landforms, rock masses, etc) resulting from distortion of the earth's crust due to forces within it
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(of processes, movements, etc) occurring within the earth's crust and causing structural deformation
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Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tectonic
1650–60; < Late Latin tectonicus < Greek tektonikós pertaining to construction, equivalent to tekton- (stem of téktōn ) carpenter + -ikos -ic
Explanation
No, it’s not the latest electro-dance craze from Japan; the word tectonic refers to the earth's crust and the big hunks of it that shift around. Even though it’s popular with the geology crowd, tectonic comes from the Greek word for "building." That can help you remember that the earth's crust consists of the building blocks we live on — the continents. Tectonic plates are the large sections of the earth’s surface that shift. If you live in a part of the world that sits on the edge of a tectonic plate, like the San Andreas Fault in California, you’ve probably felt an earthquake or two.
Vocabulary lists containing tectonic
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Brace Yourself: Earthquake Words
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Geological Features
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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.
Globalization, social upheaval and great-power rivalry are tectonic shifts that were in motion before the terrorist attacks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
That suggests they experienced little or no major tectonic deformation during the late Miocene.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026
The shifts that occur, not just in time but in physical space, are linked to the tectonic movement in the play’s emotional ground.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
"We are witnessing a tectonic shift in the party system," he said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
It is not simply a matter of size or density–Venus is nearly a twin of Earth in these respects and yet has no tectonic activity.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
