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syncline

American  
[sing-klahyn, sin-] / ˈsɪŋ klaɪn, ˈsɪn- /

noun

Geology.

  1. a synclinal fold.

syncline British  
/ ˈsɪŋklaɪn /

noun

  1. a downward fold of stratified rock in which the strata slope towards a vertical axis Compare anticline

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
syncline Scientific  
/ sĭn′klīn′ /

  1. A fold of rock layers that slope upward on both sides of a common low point. Synclines form when rocks are compressed by plate-tectonic forces. They can be as small as the side of a cliff or as large as an entire valley.

  2. Compare anticline

Other Word Forms

  • synclinal adjective

Etymology

Origin of syncline

First recorded in 1870–75; back formation from synclinal

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.