aftershock

noun

af·​ter·​shock ˈaf-tər-ˌshäk How to pronounce aftershock (audio)
1
: an aftereffect of a distressing or traumatic event
2
: a minor shock following the main shock of an earthquake

Examples of aftershock in a Sentence

The first aftershock came just minutes after the earthquake.
Recent Examples on the Web Advertisement The aftershocks — 6.0, 5.7, 5.5 — made everyone jumpy. Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2024 The chaos at one of the world’s busiest shipping choke points, a reverberation of the Israel-Hamas war, threatens to upend international commerce, already under strain from rising inflation, disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine and the aftershocks of the coronavirus pandemic. Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 21 Dec. 2023 The agency said the mainshock was followed 6 minutes later by a 4.5 aftershock and a series of smaller aftershocks, all which originated west of the Salton Sea. Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Feb. 2024 The earthquake was followed by a magnitude 4.5 aftershock. Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 12 Feb. 2024 The journalists wrote of the family’s tragedy in their initial report from southern Turkey, where more than 53,000 people were killed in the earthquake and a powerful aftershock, the worst disaster to strike the region in hundreds of years. Terence McGinley, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2024 There have been more than 600 aftershocks, according to Japan’s Meteorological Agency, that have knocked out water infrastructure and electricity. Janis MacKey Frayer, NBC News, 7 Jan. 2024 Japan earthquake death toll rises as rescuers 'battle against time' The death toll from central Japan's powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake rose to at least 62 on Tuesday as aftershocks continued to shake the Noto peninsula. Harold Maass, The Week Us, theweek, 3 Jan. 2024 For instance, the probability of an aftershock for a single event is between 10 and 50 percent, and the occurrence rate decreases with time. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 11 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'aftershock.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

after- + shock entry 1

First Known Use

1847, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of aftershock was in 1847

Dictionary Entries Near aftershock

Cite this Entry

“Aftershock.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aftershock. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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