moonquake

noun

moon·​quake ˈmün-ˌkwāk How to pronounce moonquake (audio)
: a seismic event on the moon

Examples of moonquake in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web These vibrations travel outward from events as large as earthquakes (or moonquakes) and as small as an astronaut’s footfall: Buzz Aldrin’s was recorded as the first Apollo seismometer came online. IEEE Spectrum, 28 Nov. 2018 The instruments vibrated in response to movement of the ground, say, in a moonquake. Amy Shira Teitel, Discover Magazine, 14 Dec. 2017 Beyond the occasional moonquake, not much happens amidst the impact basins that were once brimming with lava. David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, 13 Jan. 2022 Beyond the occasional moonquake, not much happens amidst the impact basins that were once brimming with lava billions of years ago. David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, 19 Nov. 2020 The moon has moonquakes Small moonquakes several miles below the surface are believed to be caused by the gravitational pull of the Earth. Fox News, 16 Mar. 2020 In general, the shape of these events is similar to that of moonquakes. John Timmer, Ars Technica, 25 Feb. 2020 Exploring lunar nova The lander is equipped with a seismometer to listen for moonquakes and a Langmuir probe that will measure fluctuations in the wispy plasma enveloping the lunar surface. Sanjay Kumar, Science | AAAS, 7 Sep. 2019 The lander carried a thermal probe to take the moon’s temperature up to 10 centimeters underground and was also equipped with a seismometer to monitor moonquakes, which could have provided important information about the moon’s deep interior. Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 6 Sep. 2019

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

Word History

First Known Use

1946, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of moonquake was in 1946

Dictionary Entries Near moonquake

Cite this Entry

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

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