plate tectonics

noun

plural in form but singular in construction

1

: a theory in geology: the lithosphere of the earth is divided into a small number of plates which float on and travel independently over the mantle and much of the earth's seismic activity occurs at the boundaries of these plates

2

: the process and dynamics of tectonic plate movement

also : a similar process on a body other than earth compare continental drift

plate-tectonic

ˈplāt-tek-ˈtä-nik 

adjective

Examples of plate tectonics in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

During that same decade, the field saw an equally dramatic shift with the widespread acceptance of the theory of plate tectonics—the slow drift of separate chunks of the outermost layers of the planet atop the mantle. —Kathryn Schulz, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2024

Still, because of our planet’s plate tectonics, the water eventually returns to the surface through volcanic eruptions. —Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Aug. 2024

Today in Nature, researchers are proposing a sort of addendum to the theory of plate tectonics. —Byhannah Richter, science.org, 7 Aug. 2024

For instance, the theory of plate tectonics—that the planet’s surface is composed of rocky plates that move around over geologic time—wasn’t widely accepted until the mid-1960s. —Rudy Molinek, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1969, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

plate tectonics

noun

1

: a theory in geology: the lithosphere of the earth is divided into a small number of moving plates whose movements cause seismic activity (as earthquakes)

2

: the process of plate movement

plate-tectonic adjective