subduct

verb

sub·​duct səbˈdəkt 

transitive verb

1

archaic

a

: subtract, deduct

b

: remove, withdraw

c

: steal, pilfer

2

geology : to force to descend below the edge of an opposing crustal plate during a process of subduction (see subduction sense 3)

… the quakes are thought to result from the build-up of stresses in one plate as it is subducted or dragged down under another.

—Science News, 2 Mar. 1985

… the notion that sediments long ago "subducted" deep into the Earth—dragged under as one continental plate slid over another—are giving off gas.

—David Osborne, The Atlantic, February 1986

intransitive verb

1

obsolete : subtract

2

archaic

a

: to remove something

b

: steal, pilfer

3

geology, of the edge of a crustal plate : to descend below the edge of another crustal plate : to undergo subduction

… the deepest earthquakes, which occur in oceanic plates that are subducting, or plunging beneath other plates.

—Stefi Weisburd, Science News, 16 Aug. 1986

Word History

Etymology

Latin subductus, past participle of subducere to withdraw

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Rhymes for subduct

• abduct
• conduct
• construct
• deduct
• destruct
• induct
• instruct
• obstruct
• aqueduct
• deconstruct
• reconstruct
• bucked