quake

American  

[kweyk] / kweɪk /

verb (used without object)

quaked, quaking

1. (of persons) to shake or tremble from cold, weakness, fear, anger, or the like.

   He spoke boldly even though his legs were quaking.

   Synonyms:

   shudder

2. (of things) to shake or tremble, as from shock, internal convulsion, or instability.

   The earth suddenly began to quake.

   Synonyms:

   quiver

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noun

1. an earthquake.

2. a trembling or tremulous agitation.

quake British  

/ kweɪk /

verb

1. to shake or tremble with or as with fear

2. to convulse or quiver, as from instability

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noun

1. the act or an instance of quaking

2. informal short for earthquake

Related Words

See shiver ¹.

Other Word Forms

• quakingly
  adverb
• unquaking
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of quake

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English cwacian “to shake, tremble”

Explanation

When you quake, you tremble and shiver. A scary sound in a dark basement might make you quake. To quake is to move rapidly back and forth, so quickly that the movement is almost a vibration. If you've ever felt the floor quake during an actual earthquake, you know the fluttery, shaking kind of movement. A person can quake with fear, and a building can quake during a wind storm. You can also use the word quake as a noun, to describe the feeling itself. The Old English root is cwacian, or "tremble or clatter of teeth."

Example Sentences

That classic will forever be known in Seattle as the Beast Quake game, when Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch broke nine tackles to score a 67-yard touchdown.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2025

Seattle may have experienced its own Swift Quake last July, but at an August 2023 concert Taylor Swift's fans in Los Angeles gave scientists a lot of shaking to ponder.

From Science Daily • Mar. 13, 2024

In 1997 Ms. Jaquays joined id Software, the company that made groundbreaking first-person shooters like Doom and Quake.

From New York Times • Feb. 1, 2024

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that Sept. 1 this year represents more than the centennial of the Great Kanto Quake.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 31, 2023

Aech and I quickly fell into our old familiar rhythm, and before long it was like we were back in the Basement, trash-talking each other over a game of Quake or Joust.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline