tectonic plate

American  

[tek-tan-ik playt] / tɛkˈtan ɪk ˌpleɪt /

noun

1. Geology. a solid, massive slab of the earth's lithosphere, always in motion atop the softer mantle, touching and shifting other tectonic plates, which together cover the entire earth and whose collisions can be intense enough to create volcanoes, mountains, and earthquakes.

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Example Sentences

The tsunami was triggered by a magnitude 8.8 earthquake on July 29 in the Kuril-Kamchatka subduction zone, where one tectonic plate is forced beneath another.

From Science Daily • Jun. 25, 2026

These strike-slip earthquakes can occur at shallower depths than subduction quakes, where one tectonic plate is forced below another.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 25, 2026

Thanks to their location close to tectonic plate fault lines, South Pacific islands are surrounded by potentially enormous mineral deposits.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 27, 2025

That strain accumulates over decades and centuries, and is eventually unleashed in the form of earthquakes around that tectonic plate boundary.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2025

And on a scale as large as a tectonic plate, a little bit of motion combined with a lot of stickiness can build up an enormous amount of energy.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland