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
But, when it has mattered, Littler plucked precision from the quiver.
From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2025
They tossed their bags to the ground, and Anya set her bow and quiver carefully atop them.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
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
Iang's face quivers as she recounts the story of what happened on 26 November in K-Haimual, her village in Myanmar's western Chin State, and then she breaks down.
From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2025
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
The result is a line with no mistakes: Even as it falls exactly where it needs to be to make the picture, it quivers with a vitality that’s compelling in its own right.
From New York Times ● Apr. 4, 2024
She raises a hand to touch it and it quivers, dividing into droplets and then coming back together.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
On the verge of tears, his voice quivered and broke.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
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
Jeremy Allen White, who catapulted to fame with “The Bear,” quivered when he mentioned his beloved, late manager Chris Huvane, continuing to say “thank you” as he walked off stage in a daze.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 11, 2023
The third time he said it, his voice quivered.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
Johnston plays poor Bear as a quivering mess wracked with guilt that this monster — who used to be his friend — is the result of his own terrible decision-making.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
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
"Cathy and Heathcliff's passions vibrate through their dress, their surroundings, and everything else within reach, and you leave the cinema quivering on their own private frequency."
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2026
Hegseth’s brief tenure at the Pentagon has been dominated by his quivering inability to deal with any kind of challenge or discomfort.
From Salon ● Dec. 3, 2025
Brer turned to me, his ears practically quivering with excitement.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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.
