downthrow

[ doun-throh ]

noun

1. a throwing down or being thrown down; overthrow.

downthrow

/ ˈdaʊnˌθrəʊ /

noun

1. the state of throwing down or being thrown down
2. geology the sinking of rocks on one side of a fault plane

Word History and Origins

Origin of downthrow¹

First recorded in 1605–15; noun use of verb phrase throw down

Example Sentences

The entire country from this point to Sydney Heads has been slowly let down by one of those great earth movements known as a "downthrow fault."

From Project Gutenberg

The downthrow was not the work of one single act of disturbance—it went on for ages.

From Project Gutenberg

The relationship that exists between the hade and the direction of throw has led to the classification of faults into “normal faults,” which hade under the downthrow side, or in other words, those in which the hanging-wall has dropped; and “reversed faults,” which hade beneath the upthrow side, that is to say, the foot-wall exhibits a relative sinking.

From Project Gutenberg

The rock on that side of a fault which has dropped relatively to the rock on the other is said to be upon the downthrow side of the fault; conversely, the relatively uplifted portion is the upthrow side.

From Project Gutenberg

Again, a faulted mass may be on the downthrow side towards one end, and on the upthrow side towards the other, the movement having taken place about an axis approximately normal to the fault-plane, the “pivot” in this case being near the centre.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• beating
• blow
• breakdown
• collapse
• debacle
• destruction
• drubbing
• embarrassment
• failure
• killing
• loss
• massacre
• rout
• setback
• thrashing
• triumph