Link Centre Dictionary

earthquake

earth·quake

UK/ˈɜːθkweɪk/ US/ˈɝθkweɪk/ fairly common

noun

1.

shaking and vibration at the surface of the earth resulting from underground movement along a fault plane of from volcanic activity

Synonyms
2.

a disturbance that is extremely disruptive

  • “selling the company caused an earthquake among the employees”

Origin

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

Phrases

  • earthquake baroque
  • earthquake bomb
  • earthquake dam
  • earthquake drill
  • earthquake engineering
  • earthquake protector
  • earthquake storm
  • slow earthquake

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.