quake
Americanverb (used without object)
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quakes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
quaked,
past participle, past
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quaking
present participle
noun
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quakes
plural
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an earthquake.
-
a trembling or tremulous agitation.
verb
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to shake or tremble with or as with fear
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to convulse or quiver, as from instability
noun
-
the act or an instance of quaking
-
informal short for earthquake
Synonym Usage
See shiver 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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quakesimple
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quakessimple
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have quakedperfect
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has quakedperfect
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am quakingprogressive
-
are quakingprogressive
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is quakingprogressive
-
have been quakingperfect progressive
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has been quakingperfect progressive
Past
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quakedsimple
-
had quakedperfect
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was quakingprogressive
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were quakingprogressive
-
had been quakingperfect progressive
Future
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."
Vocabulary lists containing quake
Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 5
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Scrabble: Words that Begin with Q
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Lesson 24
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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.
See Examples For:
While no deaths have been reported from the quake, about 30 people have been treated for minor injuries.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026
The quake was registered as occurring at a depth of just 12km.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
About 4.6 million people felt moderate to severe shaking as a result of the quake, according to the US Geological Survey, which has said that the effects of the disaster were "likely to be widespread".
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Nearly 1,100 people reported feeling Sunday’s quake, according to the USGS.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
Until the quake, we’d seen no signs of the enemy.
From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac
First discovered in the northern hemisphere more than 20 years ago, these quakes occur when huge chunks of ice fall from glaciers into the sea.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
Nelly Aparcedo, 71, lost her home in the quakes and now lives in a tent shelter set up in the city of La Guaira.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Latin America is already reeling from two disastrous quakes that struck Venezuela in June, killing more than 6,000 people and causing widespread destruction.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
The quake comes less than two months after twin quakes devastated the north of neighbouring Venezuela, killing more than 6,100 people.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
On January 23 and February 4 further quakes of similar magnitude followed.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
He was so influential that two presidents, Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower, quaked under fear of incurring McCarthy's wrath.
From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2024
But on board, the 12-year-old girl quaked with fear.
From Seattle Times ● May 7, 2024
Neither Pinterest nor the patriarchy quaked in its boots.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 2024
Diggins-Smith’s straightforward words were weighted as her voice quaked with frustration and anguish shone in her eyes.
From New York Times ● May 2, 2022
As she placed the sacrificial parts upon a blazing altar, the earth rumbled and quaked beneath their feet and from afar dogs howled through the darkness.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
“What is it?” she said, her voice quaking.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
"I don't think anybody is going to be quaking in their boots to play Scotland," said former Scotland winger Pat Nevin.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
But while Wembanyama is having the time of his life, every other team in the league is quaking in its boots.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
Troubles, however, are also quaking on the offensive side of America’s nuclear-weapons enterprise—specifically, the program to build a new land-based intercontinental ballistic missile, the Sentinel, to replace the 400 current ICBMs, known as Minuteman IIIs.
From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2025
I love him, and he is quaking with terror at the thought of death.
From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
