HANGING WALL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does hanging wall mean? 

• HANGING WALL (noun)
  The noun HANGING WALL has 1 sense:

1. the upper wall of an inclined fault

  Familiarity information: HANGING WALL used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HANGING WALL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The upper wall of an inclined fault

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("hanging wall" is a kind of...):

wall (anything that suggests a wall in structure or function or effect)

Holonyms ("hanging wall" is a part of...):

inclined fault (a geological fault in which one side is above the other)

 Context examples 

A fault in which the hanging wall moves downward relative to the footwall, in response to extensional stress.

(Normal faulting, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)