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
That wrist is how Alcaraz sculpts that spectacular drop shot that makes opponents quiver at the knees and would make Harry Hopman cry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
In the meantime, locals like Ogata and Yui* are having to pick up the pieces and try to restore some kind of normality – even as the shockwaves, both geological and psychological, continue to quiver.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 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
Carefully, the girl replaced her arrow in her quiver, and shouldered her bow.
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
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
She played a new single, “Alone,” that had some jazzy, jagged percussion and Björk-worthy vocal quivers, showing she’s getting only more ambitious with time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2023
Through the branches, I could make out two men carrying bows, with quivers of arrows strapped to their backs.
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
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
“I quivered at the end of every year when we learned what the budget was,” Waters said.
From New York Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
Her nose started to run and her lips quivered.
From "The Lemonade War" by Jacqueline Davies
Big eyes quivering, he is so excited to share a new update.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
A companion next to her fought back tears, her chin quivering.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 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
“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
The mangy old lion has crept back into his den and is huddled in the corner, quivering.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
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.
