Richter scale
a scale, ranging from 1 to 10, for indicating the intensity of an earthquake.
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Origin of Richter scale
1Words Nearby Richter scale
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use Richter scale in a sentence
The most recent activity had a high point of 3.6 on the Richter scale.
26 Earthquakes Later, Fracking’s Smoking Gun Is in Texas | James Joiner | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThis is how seismic safety is done, by the force of gravity, not from Richter-scale measurements.
Latest Accident at San Onofre Nuclear Plant Worries Activists, Residents | Jamie Reno | February 13, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Taliban advance should be causing high Richter-scale reactions inside the Obama White House.
The magnitude of an earthquake, usually expressed by the Richter scale, is a measure of the amplitude of the seismic waves.
Earthquakes | Kaye M. Shedlock
British Dictionary definitions for Richter scale
/ (ˈrɪxtə) /
a scale for expressing the magnitude of an earthquake in terms of the logarithm of the amplitude of the ground wave; values range from 0 to over 9: Compare Mercalli scale See also magnitude (def. 5)
Origin of Richter scale
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for Richter scale
[ rĭk′tər ]
A logarithmic scale used to rate the strength or total energy of earthquakes. The scale has no upper limit but usually ranges from 1 to 9. Because it is logarithmic, an earthquake rated as 5 is ten times as powerful as one rated as 4. An earthquake with a magnitude of 1 is detectable only by seismographs; one with a magnitude of 7 is a major earthquake. The Richter scale is named after the American seismologist Charles Francis Richter (1900-1985). See Note at earthquake.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for Richter scale
[ (rik-tuhr) ]
A scale used to rate the intensity of earthquakes. The scale is open-ended, with each succeeding level representing ten times as much energy as the last. A serious earthquake might rate six to eight, and very destructive quakes rate higher.
Notes for Richter scale
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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