downthrow

Defeat; ruin.

Noun

  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...
  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...

    Synonyms: downcast

Origin

From down + throw.

Forms

downthrows

Related

downthrown