the Richter scale
noun
technical
: a system of measurement used for showing the strength of an earthquake
The earthquake measured 4.5 on the Richter scale.
Examples of the Richter scale in a Sentence
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Since its official founding in 1920 as a successor to Pasadena’s Throop University, the campus has served as a breeding ground for Nobel Prize winners and an incubator for historic innovations, among them the Richter scale, antiretroviral therapies, and the discovery of gravitational waves.
—
Mayer Rus, Architectural Digest, 5 Feb. 2026
Keep in mind that the Richter scale is non-linear, meaning that a 9.0 is much stronger than a 7.0.
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Despite this difference in relative strength, around 222,000 people died in the Haiti Earthquake, whereas nearly 20,000 people died during 3.11.
—Wesley Cheek, Time, 1 Nov. 2025
Shortly after the initial tremor, a second earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale hit the same region at a similar depth.
—Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
Why the Phillies, trying to sell him on the fervor of their market, showed him a chart detailing how the reaction of fans to a Kyle Schwarber home run in the 2022 World Series registered on the Richter scale.
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
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Mayer Rus, Architectural Digest, 5 Feb. 2026
Keep in mind that the Richter scale is non-linear, meaning that a 9.0 is much stronger than a 7.0.
Advertisement
Despite this difference in relative strength, around 222,000 people died in the Haiti Earthquake, whereas nearly 20,000 people died during 3.11.
—Wesley Cheek, Time, 1 Nov. 2025
Shortly after the initial tremor, a second earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale hit the same region at a similar depth.
—Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
Why the Phillies, trying to sell him on the fervor of their market, showed him a chart detailing how the reaction of fans to a Kyle Schwarber home run in the 2022 World Series registered on the Richter scale.
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for the Richter scale
Cite this Entry
“The Richter scale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20Richter%20scale. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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