Richter scale

American  

noun

1. a scale, ranging from 1 to 10, for indicating the intensity of an earthquake.

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Richter scale British  

/ ˈrɪxtə /

noun

1. a scale for expressing the magnitude of an earthquake in terms of the logarithm of the amplitude of the ground wave; values range from 0 to over 9 Compare Mercalli scale See also magnitude

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Richter scale Scientific  

/ rĭk′tər /

1. A logarithmic scale used to rate the strength or total energy of earthquakes. The scale has no upper limit but usually ranges from 1 to 9. Because it is logarithmic, an earthquake rated as 5 is ten times as powerful as one rated as 4. An earthquake with a magnitude of 1 is detectable only by seismographs; one with a magnitude of 7 is a major earthquake. The Richter scale is named after the American seismologist Charles Francis Richter (1900–1985).

2. See Note at earthquake

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Richter scale Cultural  

1. A scale used to rate the intensity of earthquakes. The scale is open-ended, with each succeeding level representing ten times as much energy as the last. A serious earthquake might rate six to eight, and very destructive quakes rate higher.

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Discover More

No quake greater than nine has ever been recorded.

Etymology

Origin of Richter scale

1935–40; after Charles F. Richter (1900–85), U.S. seismologist

Compare meaning

How does richter-scale compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Mercalli scale vs. Richter scale

Example Sentences

Universal’s big swing for Dylan – using money that could have been spent on developing new artists – is a sign of Mercuriadis’s Richter-scale impact on the music business.

From The Guardian • Feb. 27, 2021

GameStop, however, is linked to lottery stocks in an important way: Its Richter-scale swings are intimately tied to the presence of retail investors.

From Slate • Feb. 4, 2021

Riverside freaking out over seeing Charles Richter, of Richter-scale fame, at a 1970 local meeting of the Geological Society of America.

From The New Yorker • Jan. 11, 2019

A new study reveals, however, that in 1992, what should have been a china-smashing 4.8 Richter-scale quake hit central California, and yet nobody felt a thing.

From Time Magazine Archive

It is a headlong entertainment, bubbling over with corruption, betrayals, assassinations, Richter-scale romance and, of course, family values.

From Time Magazine Archive