quench
Americanverb (used with object)
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to slake, satisfy, or allay (thirst, desires, passion, etc.).
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to put out or extinguish (fire, flames, etc.).
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to cool suddenly by plunging into a liquid, as in tempering steel by immersion in water.
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to subdue or destroy; overcome; quell.
to quench an uprising.
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Electronics. to terminate (the flow of electrons in a vacuum tube) by application of a voltage.
verb
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to satisfy (one's thirst, desires, etc); slake
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to put out (a fire, flame, etc); extinguish
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to put down or quell; suppress
to quench a rebellion
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to cool (hot metal) by plunging it into cold water
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physics to reduce the degree of (luminescence or phosphorescence) in (excited molecules or a material) by adding a suitable substance
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electronics
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to suppress (sparking) when the current is cut off in an inductive circuit
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to suppress (an oscillation or discharge) in a component or device
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Other Word Forms
- quenchable adjective
- quenchableness noun
- quencher noun
- quenchless adjective
- unquenchable adjective
- unquenched adjective
Etymology
Origin of quench
1150–1200; Middle English quenchen, earlier cwenken; compare Old English -cwencan in ācwencan to quench ( a- 3 )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Consumer tastes have changed dramatically since Coke’s heyday, and Vita Coco has responded with a product mix that should quench investors’ thirst for growth and reasonable value.
From Barron's
"The key to the quenching mechanism lies in how quickly and efficiently the triplet states can be deactivated," said Alessandro Agostini, researcher at the University of Padua, Italy and co-lead author of the study.
From Science Daily
When it stopped raining he found a spring where he was able to quench his thirst, but he was so unwell he was unable to eat one of the snack bars he was carrying.
From BBC
Are we not warmed by the same ultraviolet rays, quenched by the same pirated water, ensnared in the same gill net of freeways?
From Los Angeles Times
The duke was sent to Germany to cool his ardour, but the imposed distance failed to quench the flame.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
