quake
Americanverb (used without object)
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quakes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
quaked,
past participle, past
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quaking
present participle
noun
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quakes
plural
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an earthquake.
-
a trembling or tremulous agitation.
verb
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to shake or tremble with or as with fear
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to convulse or quiver, as from instability
noun
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the act or an instance of quaking
-
informal short for earthquake
Synonym Usage
See shiver 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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quakesimple
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quakessimple
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have quakedperfect
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has quakedperfect
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am quakingprogressive
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are quakingprogressive
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is quakingprogressive
-
have been quakingperfect progressive
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has been quakingperfect progressive
Past
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quakedsimple
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had quakedperfect
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was quakingprogressive
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were quakingprogressive
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had been quakingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of quake
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English cwacian “to shake, tremble”
Explanation
When you quake, you tremble and shiver. A scary sound in a dark basement might make you quake. To quake is to move rapidly back and forth, so quickly that the movement is almost a vibration. If you've ever felt the floor quake during an actual earthquake, you know the fluttery, shaking kind of movement. A person can quake with fear, and a building can quake during a wind storm. You can also use the word quake as a noun, to describe the feeling itself. The Old English root is cwacian, or "tremble or clatter of teeth."
Vocabulary lists containing quake
Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 5
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Scrabble: Words that Begin with Q
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Lesson 24
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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:
The centre of the quake hit Baqên County in the Nagqu region as on Thursday night, Xinhua reported, citing the local emergency management bureau.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
Like many others in Chitre, the capital of hard-hit Herrera province, 28-year-old Yakshuri Castillo chose to sleep outdoors due to fears of another quake.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026
Several communities have been cut off due to roadways damaged by the quake.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026
About 4.6 million people felt moderate to severe shaking as a result of the quake, according to the US Geological Survey, which has said that the effects of the disaster were "likely to be widespread".
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
His shoulders quake and soft moaning breaths escape as he tries to suppress his grief.
From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson
First discovered in the northern hemisphere more than 20 years ago, these quakes occur when huge chunks of ice fall from glaciers into the sea.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
The quakes hit as La Guaira was marking the feast of San Juan, an annual celebration featuring the ritual beating of drums.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The quake comes less than two months after twin quakes devastated the north of neighbouring Venezuela, killing more than 6,100 people.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
National Assembly Chief Jorge Rodriguez, the brother of interim president Delcy Rodriguez, stated on June 30 that 30,000 people were located in the disaster zone when the quakes struck.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
Even more unnerving, because they are less well understood and capable of occurring anywhere at any time, are the rarer type of shakings known as intraplate quakes.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
He was so influential that two presidents, Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower, quaked under fear of incurring McCarthy's wrath.
From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2024
But on board, the 12-year-old girl quaked with fear.
From Seattle Times ● May 7, 2024
Neither Pinterest nor the patriarchy quaked in its boots.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 2024
It was just past 6 p.m. on Saturday, and the leader board quaked with highbrow talent and highfalutin rankings.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 16, 2022
Lula quaked in front of me, shivering all the way to the tips of her braids.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
But while Wembanyama is having the time of his life, every other team in the league is quaking in its boots.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
Manchester City prevailed in a nine-goal feast at Fulham thanks to the sort of attacking display that would normally have title rivals quaking in their boots.
From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2025
Troubles, however, are also quaking on the offensive side of America’s nuclear-weapons enterprise—specifically, the program to build a new land-based intercontinental ballistic missile, the Sentinel, to replace the 400 current ICBMs, known as Minuteman IIIs.
From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2025
The role is so glorious that he almost breaks character when he begins quaking in earnest.
From Salon ● Nov. 9, 2024
Her arms shake so hard I wonder if the earth is quaking beneath me, jiggling my vision, and I just didn’t notice.
From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
