quench

[ kwench ]
See synonyms for: quenchquenchedquenches on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to slake, satisfy, or allay (thirst, desires, passion, etc.).

  2. to put out or extinguish (fire, flames, etc.).

  1. to cool suddenly by plunging into a liquid, as in tempering steel by immersion in water.

  2. to subdue or destroy; overcome; quell: to quench an uprising.

  3. Electronics. to terminate (the flow of electrons in a vacuum tube) by application of a voltage.

Origin of quench

1
1150–1200; Middle English quenchen, earlier cwenken; compare Old English -cwencan in ācwencan to quench (cf. a-3)

Other words from quench

  • quench·a·ble, adjective
  • quench·a·ble·ness, noun
  • quencher, noun
  • un·quench·a·ble, adjective
  • un·quenched, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use quench in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for quench

quench

/ (kwɛntʃ) /


verb(tr)
  1. to satisfy (one's thirst, desires, etc); slake

  2. to put out (a fire, flame, etc); extinguish

  1. to put down or quell; suppress: to quench a rebellion

  2. to cool (hot metal) by plunging it into cold water

  3. physics to reduce the degree of (luminescence or phosphorescence) in (excited molecules or a material) by adding a suitable substance

  4. electronics

    • to suppress (sparking) when the current is cut off in an inductive circuit

    • to suppress (an oscillation or discharge) in a component or device

Origin of quench

1
Old English ācwencan to extinguish; related to Old Frisian quinka to vanish

Derived forms of quench

  • quenchable, adjective
  • quencher, noun
  • quenchless, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012