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
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There is danger lurking on the sea floor off the Pacific Northwest’s coast: After centuries of two tectonic plates pushing up against each other, the Cascadia subduction zone that runs from Northern California all the way up to British Columbia is due to rupture — possibly in our lifetimes.
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Ella Nilsen, CNN Money, 20 May 2025
But Dura's group took a closer look at a different threat that could happen very suddenly—land dropping by up to two meters during a major earthquake along the Cascadia subduction zone, which stretches from Northern California to Washington.
—Thomas Westerholm, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 May 2025
The coast that extends from northern California to Vancouver Island in British Columbia sits on a subduction zone where the Juan de Fuca, Explorer and Gorda oceanic plates slip beneath the North American continental plate—parts of the ever moving slabs of rock that make up our planet.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2025
Those are the findings of a new study that examined the repercussions of a massive earthquake on the Cascadia subduction zone, which stretches from Northern California up to Canada’s Vancouver Island.
—Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2025
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Ella Nilsen, CNN Money, 20 May 2025
But Dura's group took a closer look at a different threat that could happen very suddenly—land dropping by up to two meters during a major earthquake along the Cascadia subduction zone, which stretches from Northern California to Washington.
—Thomas Westerholm, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 May 2025
The coast that extends from northern California to Vancouver Island in British Columbia sits on a subduction zone where the Juan de Fuca, Explorer and Gorda oceanic plates slip beneath the North American continental plate—parts of the ever moving slabs of rock that make up our planet.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2025
Those are the findings of a new study that examined the repercussions of a massive earthquake on the Cascadia subduction zone, which stretches from Northern California up to Canada’s Vancouver Island.
—Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subduction
Cite this Entry
“Subduction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subduction. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
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