quaked; quaking
1
: to shake or vibrate usually from shock or instability
2
: to tremble or shudder usually from cold or fear
: an instance of shaking or trembling (as of the earth or moon)
especially
: earthquake
Synonyms
Examples of quake in a Sentence
Verb
She was quaking with rage.
The explosion made the whole house quake.
Noun
the quake registered 6.5 on the Richter scale, causing widespread damage
Recent Examples on the Web
WIRED, 16 Nov. 2023
French Canadian woodsmen in the 1600s believed that the trees quaked in fear because the cross on which Jesus was crucified was made of aspen.
—Michael C Grant, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019
To study quaking giants, scientists use data from NASA’s planet-hunting Kepler telescope, which monitored the brightness of over 180,000 stars for years.
—Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine, 22 Aug. 2023
From the earth, quaking scares [00:19:19] Laura: me.
—Laura Johnston, cleveland, 29 Aug. 2023
After each Band Blast class, my body was always left quaking.
—Andi Breitowich, Women's Health, 8 June 2023
Allow one hour to walk the trail and tour the quaking bog.
—Staff Report, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2023
Mark Lemar Stewart) and Heidi Rodewald’s quaking score with mosh-pit-like proximity.
—Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 4 May 2023
Chase and Bank Of America likely aren’t quaking in their boots but this could move the needle on stubbornly low interest rate payouts.
—Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 18 Apr. 2023
Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 13 Nov. 2023
The quake struck about 23 miles west-southwest from Mentone, Texas, around 4:27 a.m. local time.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 8 Nov. 2023
Then, on Wednesday, a magnitude 4.1 quake struck less than 50 miles outside of San Francisco's city center, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 19 Oct. 2023
No details were immediately available on the impact of the quake, which struck at 12:41 a.m.
—Jolie Lash, ABC News, 10 Oct. 2023
These further showed that a seismic wave velocity close to that which resulted from the quake was only possible if Mars had a small, dense core of liquid iron surrounded by a molten silicate layer—if the core was less dense, the waves would have traveled faster.
—Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 25 Oct. 2023
Satellite data is offering scientists critical clues that might help unravel the mechanics behind the quake and pin down the specific fault that ruptured.
—Aida Alami Hannah Reyes Morales, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2023
Scientists had predicted Mars would exhibit quakes up to a magnitude of about 5, but this forecast was only borne out by the single monster quake in InSight’s final months of operations.
—Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2023
It was followed by a 5.0 magnitude quake in the same general area a few minutes later.
—Jolie Lash, ABC News, 10 Oct. 2023
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Verb
Presently, based on the proximity of the magma to the surface and the constant seismic rumbling, Iceland’s Meteorological Office suspects that there is a very high likelihood of an eruption, somewhere along that 10-mile-long line of deformed and quaking ground, in the coming days.
—WIRED, 16 Nov. 2023
French Canadian woodsmen in the 1600s believed that the trees quaked in fear because the cross on which Jesus was crucified was made of aspen.
—Michael C Grant, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019
To study quaking giants, scientists use data from NASA’s planet-hunting Kepler telescope, which monitored the brightness of over 180,000 stars for years.
—Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine, 22 Aug. 2023
From the earth, quaking scares [00:19:19] Laura: me.
—Laura Johnston, cleveland, 29 Aug. 2023
After each Band Blast class, my body was always left quaking.
—Andi Breitowich, Women's Health, 8 June 2023
Allow one hour to walk the trail and tour the quaking bog.
—Staff Report, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2023
Mark Lemar Stewart) and Heidi Rodewald’s quaking score with mosh-pit-like proximity.
—Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 4 May 2023
Chase and Bank Of America likely aren’t quaking in their boots but this could move the needle on stubbornly low interest rate payouts.
—Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 18 Apr. 2023
Noun
Although the freeway was deemed safe from collapse, experts said the bridge abutments needed even more strengthening with the installation of pilings to avoid damage in a future quake.
—Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 13 Nov. 2023
The quake struck about 23 miles west-southwest from Mentone, Texas, around 4:27 a.m. local time.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 8 Nov. 2023
Then, on Wednesday, a magnitude 4.1 quake struck less than 50 miles outside of San Francisco's city center, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 19 Oct. 2023
No details were immediately available on the impact of the quake, which struck at 12:41 a.m.
—Jolie Lash, ABC News, 10 Oct. 2023
These further showed that a seismic wave velocity close to that which resulted from the quake was only possible if Mars had a small, dense core of liquid iron surrounded by a molten silicate layer—if the core was less dense, the waves would have traveled faster.
—Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 25 Oct. 2023
Satellite data is offering scientists critical clues that might help unravel the mechanics behind the quake and pin down the specific fault that ruptured.
—Aida Alami Hannah Reyes Morales, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2023
Scientists had predicted Mars would exhibit quakes up to a magnitude of about 5, but this forecast was only borne out by the single monster quake in InSight’s final months of operations.
—Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2023
It was followed by a 5.0 magnitude quake in the same general area a few minutes later.
—Jolie Lash, ABC News, 10 Oct. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'quake.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near quake
Cite this Entry
“Quake.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quake. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
quake
1 of 2 verb
quaked; quaking
1
: to shake or vibrate usually from shock or lack of stability
2
: to tremble or shudder usually from cold or fear
quake
2 of 2 noun
: a shaking or trembling
especially
: earthquake
More from Merriam-Webster on quake
Nglish: Translation of quake for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of quake for Arabic Speakers
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