tectonic plate

American  

[tek-tahn-ik playt] / tɛkˈtɑn 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

See Examples For:

tectonic plate

At subduction zones, one tectonic plate sinks beneath another, carrying water from the oceans down toward the mantle.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026

Experts at the US Geological Survey said the quake was likely caused by movement along a deep fault within the Nazca tectonic plate.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

Australia rides a tectonic plate northeast at a pace of almost 3 inches a year, the speed of a fingernail’s growth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

He stood up, and noticed that the concrete floor had buckled like a tectonic plate.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

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