Dictionary

downthrow en · NOUN

Etymology

From down + throw.

Meanings

1. Defeat; ruin.
   • These continued, led to the downthrow of the Russian expedition. The French, however, nothing daunted, pushed on, and arrived near Moscow […] 1821, William Oxberry, The flowers of literature, or, Encyclopædia of anecdote:
2. A depression of the strata on one side of a fault; also, the degree of downward displacement in such a fault.
   • The geology at the site is mainly sandstone and shale overlaid with boulder clay, and is extremely confused. The ground is badly faulted, and at Micklam [Point], near Whitehaven, there is a downthrow of 480 ft. 1955 July, “Storm Damage Repairs in Furness and West Cumberland”, in Railway Magazine, page 470:

Forms

Relateds

downthrown

Synonyms

downcast