megathrust

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noun

A sudden large-scale slip along a fault between a subducting and an overriding plate, resulting in a major earthquake.

OriginEnglish thrust ← Ancient Greek μέγᾰς (mégăs) ← Proto-Hellenic *mégas →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

nounmegathrust (plural megathrusts)

plural megathrusts

  1. geographyA sudden large-scale slip along a fault between a subducting and an overriding plate, resulting in a major earthquake.

    On March 11, 2011, at 2:46 p.m., a magnitude-9 undersea megathrust earthquake struck off the northeastern coast of Japan.

    2021, Ruth Ozeki, The Book of Form and Emptiness, Canongate Books (2022), page 458

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*méǵh₂s
  2. Proto-Hellenic*mégas
  3. Ancient Greekμέγᾰς (mégăs)
  4. Englishmega-
  5. Englishthrust
  6. Englishmegathrust

From mega- + thrust.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

megathrust. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/megathrust

MLA

“megathrust.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/megathrust. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “megathrust,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/megathrust.

Source: megathrust on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.