tectonics

nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,293 of 15,258leans written

Tectonics is the study of the great moving plates of the crust. Plate tectonics, the tectonics of the region, tectonic activity.

Plate tectonics was accepted only in the 1960s and reorganised the whole of geology, since it explains earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain ranges with one idea. The Greek behind it means a builder.

Definitions of tectonics

1nountectonicsThe study of the great moving plates of the crust.C1
“Tectonics explains why the Himalayas are still slowly rising.”

tectonics is a study.

Where it comes from

Greek tekton means a builder or carpenter.

Ancient Greek τέκτων (téktōn, “builder”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

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tectonics in the wild

The processes that result in plates and shape Earth's crust are called tectonics.
Plate tectonics
While Earth is the only planet known to currently have active plate tectonics, evidence suggests that other planets and moons have experienced or exhibit forms of tectonic activity.
Plate tectonics
The field of planetary tectonics extends the concept to other planets and moons.
Tectonics
Where a zone of strike-slip tectonics forms the boundary between two tectonic plates, this is known as a transform or conservative plate boundary.
Strike-slip tectonics
The interaction between erosion and tectonics has been a topic of debate since the early 1990s.
Erosion and tectonics

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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