abyssal plain

noun

: any of the great flat sediment-covered areas of ocean floor see continental shelf illustration

Examples of abyssal plain in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
The team sampled the seabed of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, an abyssal plain between Hawaii and Mexico, to assess the possible impacts of deep-sea mining. Sam Meredith, CNBC, 23 July 2024 Correction: The Clarion-Clipperton Zone is an abyssal plain between Hawaii and Mexico. Sam Meredith, CNBC, 23 July 2024 This abyssal plain sprawls over 2.3 million square miles, over half the size of the contiguous U.S., and plunges to depths exceeding 3 miles in some places. Kate Golembiewski, Discover Magazine, 12 Dec. 2023 The metallic nodules on the abyssal plains that miners want to hoover up form over millions of years in a remote part of the planet where fine sediment filters down at a rate of about a centimeter every millennium. Susan Lahey, Popular Mechanics, 24 July 2023 The abyssal plains are strewn with mineral nodules that coalesce around biotic seeds such as sharks' teeth, accumulating cobalt and other metals integral to lithium-ion batteries. Amy Brady, Scientific American, 20 June 2023 The abyssal plain is a term used to describe the ocean floor at a water depth of 3,000 to 4,000 meters (around 12,000 feet), which makes up 60% of Earth’s surface, according to Roberts. Taylor Nicioli, CNN, 7 Nov. 2022 The team had discovered an undersea volcano, or seamount, on an abyssal plain—a geologically inactive region that shouldn’t have any. Akila Raghavan, Science | AAAS, 15 July 2021 Drazen is one of a select few scientists who have explored the abyssal plain ecosystem of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), where the majority of the ISA’s undersea mining contracts are located. Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 May 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1880, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of abyssal plain was in 1880

Dictionary Entries Near abyssal plain

Cite this Entry

“Abyssal plain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abyssal%20plain. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on abyssal plain

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!