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seismic waves

Cultural  
  1. In geology, shock waves in solid rock generated by earthquakes or underground explosions. (See seismology.)


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Seismic waves travel through the Earth and can be detected far from their source.

Most of our knowledge of the Earth's interior comes from studying seismic waves.

The measurement of seismic waves is also important in detecting underground nuclear tests.

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.

To reliably tell mantle earthquakes apart from crustal ones, Wang and Klemperer developed a technique that compares two kinds of seismic waves.

From Science Daily • Feb. 20, 2026

Andrew’s humiliation makes it clear that, six years after Epstein’s death, the scandal continues to create seismic waves of social and political destruction.

From Salon • Oct. 31, 2025

Shallow earthquakes are common in the country and are more destructive, as seismic waves have less of a distance to travel to the Earth's surface and therefore retain much of their power.

From BBC • Sep. 1, 2025

Geophysicist John Vidale noticed something striking while tracking the way seismic waves move from Earth’s crust through its core.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 24, 2024

The four main types of seismic waves each have distinct characteristics.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

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