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downthrow

[ doun-throh ]

/ ˈdaʊnˌθroʊ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR downthrow ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a throwing down or being thrown down; overthrow.

Origin of downthrow

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

Words nearby downthrow

downstate, downstream, downstroke, downswing, downtake, downthrow, downtick, downtime, downtown, downtrend, downtrodden

Example sentences from the Web for downthrow

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

Australian Pictures |Howard Willoughby
Under what circumstances should we term a fault a downthrow?

Geology |James Geikie
The higher side is called the heaved or upthrow side; the opposite side the thrown or downthrow side.

The Wonder Book of Volcanoes and Earthquakes |Edwin J. Houston
Normal faults are exemplified in figs. 1, 2, and 6; in the latter the masses A and B are on the downthrow sides, C is upthrown.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 2 |Various

Normal faults, of which Figure 184 is an example, hade to the downthrow; the hanging wall has gone down.

The Elements of Geology |William Harmon Norton

British Dictionary definitions for downthrow

downthrow

/ (ˈdaʊnˌθrəʊ) /

noun

the state of throwing down or being thrown down

geology the sinking of rocks on one side of a fault plane