tectonic plates
CulturalDiscover More
The plates are not the same as the continents. The North American plate, for example, extends from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean to the west coast of the United States and Canada. These plates are about thirty miles thick.
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.
Maybe Gwyneth Paltrow will launch the Goop store and shift the tectonic plates.
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026
Although GPS satellites are U.S.-owned military hardware, the reference frame relies on an international patchwork of aging radio-telescopes staring at quasars, laser-ranging stations and physical ground markers anchored to shifting tectonic plates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
According to the study, the collision between the African and Eurasian tectonic plates gradually transports these pockets of magma toward the surface.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
Venezuela lies over the meeting point of two tectonic plates and the earthquakes were likely caused by the sudden release of friction between them.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
On the other side of the world, beneath the Atlantic Ocean, the tectonic plates are moving apart, or diverging, which creates a more stable seismic environment.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
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.
