Relating to the outermost layer of the Earth, which is made of solid rock and sits on top of the mantle below.
From crust (Latin crusta meaning 'shell' or 'hard outer layer') plus the suffix -al meaning 'relating to.' In geology, it specifically refers to Earth's crust.
Earth's crustal plates are constantly moving and colliding at speeds of just a few centimeters per year, yet over millions of years this incredibly slow motion has built all our mountains, created trenches in the ocean floor, and triggered most of our earthquakes and volcanoes.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.