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”

Example Sentences

The seismometer on Mount Rainier had registered the earthquake, but that didn’t mean the center of the quake was anywhere near.

From Literature

Fine, at least, until the ground began to quake.

From Literature

Earlier this month, the NRA suspended its review to restart nuclear reactors at Chubu Electric's Hamaoka plant in central Japan, after the company was found to have manipulated quake data in its tests.

From BBC

The petition said the plant sits on an active seismic fault zone and noted it was struck by a strong quake in 2007.

From Barron's

The quake had an estimated intensity of V on the modified Mercalli intensity scale, which signifies moderate shaking — strong enough to overturn unstable objects and break windows.

From Los Angeles Times