earthquake

CEFRA2

/ˈɜːθkweɪk/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A sudden shaking of the ground caused by movement underground.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A sudden and intense upheaval; a severely disruptive event.

Examples

  • In the near future, we may have a big earthquake in Japan.

  • The church was badly damaged by the 1997 earthquake.

At a glance

Sits at A2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Such a quake specifically occurring on the planet Earth, as opposed to other celestial bodies.

  2. A shaking of the ground, caused by volcanic activity or movement around geologic faults.

verb

Extra meaning

  1. To undergo an earthquake.

More examples

In context

  • Will there be an earthquake in the near future?

  • Her alablaster brest she soft did kis, / Which all that while shee felt to pant and quake, / As it an Earth-quake were: at last she thus bespake.

  • Last year's earthquake crushed his house, his livelihood and very nearly his leg, he said, pointing to a plastered limb that refuses to heal.

Synonyms

Quick test

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Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English erthequake, corresponding to earth + quake. Displaced Middle English eorð byfung (“earthquake”) from Old English eorþbeofung (literally “earth shaking”).