plateau

[ pla-tohor, especially British, plat-oh ]

noun

, plural pla·teaus, pla·teaux [pla-, tohz, plat, -ohz].

1. a land area having a relatively level surface considerably raised above adjoining land on at least one side, and often cut by deep canyons.
2. a period or state of little or no growth or decline:

   to reach a plateau in one's career.

3. Psychology. a period of little or no apparent progress in an individual's learning, marked by an inability to increase speed, reduce number of errors, etc., and indicated by a horizontal stretch in a learning curve or graph.
4. a flat stand, as for a centerpiece, sometimes extending the full length of a table.

verb (used without object)

, pla·teaued, pla·teau·ing.

1. to reach a state or level of little or no growth or decline, especially to stop increasing or progressing; remain at a stable level of achievement; level off:

   After a period of uninterrupted growth, sales began to plateau.

verb (used with object)

, pla·teaued, pla·teau·ing.

1. to cause to remain at a stable level, especially to prevent from rising or progressing:

   Rising inflation plateaued sales income.

Plateau

¹

/ ˈplætəʊ /

noun

1. a state of central Nigeria, formed in 1976 from part of Benue-Plateau State: tin mining. Capital: Jos. Pop: 3 178 712 (2006). Area: 30 913 sq km (11 936 sq miles)

plateau

²

/ ˈplætəʊ /

noun

1. a wide mainly level area of elevated land
2. a relatively long period of stability; levelling off

   the rising prices reached a plateau

verb

1. to remain at a stable level for a relatively long period

plateau

/ plă-tō′ /

1. An elevated, comparatively level expanse of land. Plateaus make up about 45 percent of the Earth's land surface.

Word History and Origins

Origin of plateau¹

1785–95; < French; Old French platel flat object, diminutive of plat plate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of plateau¹

C18: from French, from Old French platel something flat, from plat flat; see plate

Example Sentences

The nationwide opioid crisis continues to plague California — even as individual counties record a plateau in deaths related to drug overdoses.

From Los Angeles Times

On Thursday, British authorities charged a pair of climate change activists for vandalizing Stonehenge, a prehistoric megalithic structure on a chalk plateau known as the Salisbury Plain.

From Salon

Unseen forces drive a massive plateau of rock upward, carving spectacular features that one day will have names: Grand Canyon, Arches, Monument Valley.

From Los Angeles Times

It raises the question: Has horse racing plateaued in its effort to make the sport safer?

From Los Angeles Times

They are sprawling lands of seemingly endless vistas and soaring plateaus.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• elevation
• highland
• plain