quiver
1 Americanverb (used with or without object)
-
quivers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
quivered,
past participle, past
-
quivering
present participle
noun
noun
-
a case for holding or carrying arrows.
-
the arrows in such a case.
verb
noun
noun
Synonym Usage
See shake.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
quiversimple
-
quiverssimple
-
have quiveredperfect
-
has quiveredperfect
-
am quiveringprogressive
-
are quiveringprogressive
-
is quiveringprogressive
-
have been quiveringperfect progressive
-
has been quiveringperfect progressive
Past
-
quiveredsimple
-
had quiveredperfect
-
was quiveringprogressive
-
were quiveringprogressive
-
had been quiveringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of quiver1
First recorded in 1480–90; origin uncertain; compare Middle Dutch quiveren “to tremble”
Origin of quiver2
1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French quiveir, variant of Old French quivre; perhaps < Germanic; compare Old English cocer quiver
Explanation
Scaredy cats around the globe know that quivering is a trembling, shaking motion. A cold gust of wind might make you quiver, as would an icy glare from the abominable snowman. The verb to quiver means to shudder, wobble, or vibrate, often from fear. But the noun quiver? It's actually the carrying case for your arrows, just the kind of thing Robin Hood would have strapped to his back. So imagine one of his arrows sailing through the air, hitting a tree with a hearty whack!, and then quivering there for a few seconds.
Vocabulary lists containing quiver
Unit 1: Telling Details
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"Seventh Grade" by Gary Soto
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"Of Mice and Men"
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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:
She conjures a bewitching onscreen presence that many of her contemporaries could only dream of, pulling the viewer’s gaze with a single glare from her steely eyes or the quiver of her chin.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
As Pierce sees it, a 10% cap is “one of the few arrows left in the quiver for the White House really struggling to address the affordability crisis.”
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 19, 2026
What is it about a title like “Neighbors” that sends a little quiver up one’s spine?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
With a few deft strokes of his pen, he could convey the quiver of self-doubt, the swagger of chauvinism, the crush of depression.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 21, 2025
Torak’s pack, boots, quiver and how were neatly piled behind her.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
His lower lip quivers; there’s an expression on his face that my husband and I used to call “sad baby.”
From Slate ● May 10, 2026
On a recent evening, Karuk men and boys gathered by the Klamath wearing traditional regalia and holding spears, bows and quivers made of animal skins and filled with willow branches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2024
With calculations based on linear algebra, the research team demonstrated that -- analogous to radioactivity in atomic nuclei -- a magnetic quiver can decay into a more stable state or fission into two separate quivers.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 3, 2024
Mr McKeown, who is 37, was taken to Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, where they discovered he had suffered a ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest, which is when the heart quivers instead of pumping normally.
From BBC ● Dec. 23, 2023
Often at night there is lightning, but it quivers all alone.
From "Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbit
His lips quivered as he held back tears.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
While the video played, Doncic’s lip quivered as tears pooled in the corners of his eyes, his emotion at its most visible.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2025
Time itself quivered with the sound, that terrible, haunting chirping, adversely impacting our mental health forever.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2024
His hands shook and voice quivered at times.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 11, 2023
The words of the lullaby rushed to his mouth, and his lips quivered at the chance to sing the song he had put so much effort into learning.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
Through evocative descriptions—the skylark’s trill “hovering in the quivering air,” or the sun rising over a “silvery, dew-thick cow meadow”—Ms. Haynes invites us to take part in the daily rhythms of our natural world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
Marius Borg Høiby, 29, looked overwhelmed by the occasion, his voice quivering as he paused several times to take off his glasses and wipe his eyes.
From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2026
And she watched me, my chin was quivering and and she was like, “All right, I guess we’re going to Spokane.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2026
“Homeland” co-developer Howard Gordon serves as this show’s showrunner, and he’s amply familiar with Danes’ preternatural ability to break out an anxiety-squinched expression and quivering lower lip precisely when the action calls for them.
From Salon ● Nov. 19, 2025
It was hard to walk with quivering legs, but Fred followed Abby as best he could.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
