subduction
noun
sub·duc·tion
(ˌ)səb-ˈdək-shən 
: the action or process in plate tectonics of the edge of one crustal plate descending below the edge of another
Examples of subduction in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
These ancient rocks appear to have been made by subduction, when two plates collide to thrust one of them deep into Earth's mantle.
—
Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 20 Nov. 2023
And many older kimberlites also emerge around periods of subduction, or continental smash-ups, further muddying the picture, Dr. Janney said.
—Maya Wei-Haas, New York Times, 26 July 2023
Basic model of a subduction zone, showing how the oceanic crust is shoved underneath the continental crust.
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 15 Feb. 2024
Tracing those islands, deep under water, is the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone, a trench where vast plates of hard rock overlap and friction slowly builds.
—Chuong Nguyen, Ars Technica, 27 Nov. 2023
These mountains are entering the subduction zone and are melting.
—Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Jan. 2024
As part of the South Atlantic Plate slides under the tiny Sandwich Plate, volcanic islands form as magma rises from the mantle in this subduction zone.
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 30 Nov. 2023
But a major earthquake in the Aleutian Islands poses the most risk because the fault there is in a subduction zone — the type most likely to cause a tsunami — and resulting waves would head straight to Central California.
—Tara Duggan, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 July 2021
The most astonishing thing about these tests is that Amchitka Island is in the middle of the Aleutian subduction zone, where the Pacific Plate is diving underneath the North American Plate.
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 15 Aug. 2023
Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 20 Nov. 2023
And many older kimberlites also emerge around periods of subduction, or continental smash-ups, further muddying the picture, Dr. Janney said.
—Maya Wei-Haas, New York Times, 26 July 2023
Basic model of a subduction zone, showing how the oceanic crust is shoved underneath the continental crust.
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 15 Feb. 2024
Tracing those islands, deep under water, is the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone, a trench where vast plates of hard rock overlap and friction slowly builds.
—Chuong Nguyen, Ars Technica, 27 Nov. 2023
These mountains are entering the subduction zone and are melting.
—Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Jan. 2024
As part of the South Atlantic Plate slides under the tiny Sandwich Plate, volcanic islands form as magma rises from the mantle in this subduction zone.
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 30 Nov. 2023
But a major earthquake in the Aleutian Islands poses the most risk because the fault there is in a subduction zone — the type most likely to cause a tsunami — and resulting waves would head straight to Central California.
—Tara Duggan, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 July 2021
The most astonishing thing about these tests is that Amchitka Island is in the middle of the Aleutian subduction zone, where the Pacific Plate is diving underneath the North American Plate.
—Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 15 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'subduction.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Subduction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subduction. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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