quaked; quaking
1
: to shake or vibrate usually from shock or instability
2
: to tremble or shudder usually from cold or fear
: an instance of shaking or trembling (as of the earth or moon)
especially
: earthquake
Examples of quake in a Sentence
Verb
She was quaking with rage.
The explosion made the whole house quake.
Noun
the quake registered 6.5 on the Richter scale, causing widespread damage
Recent Examples on the Web
Elise Cutts, Scientific American, 13 May 2025
The man and his family were in their yard when the air quaked from a massive boom.
—Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 17 Apr. 2025
Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 May 2025
What the quake failed to do, the violence is now doing: marginalizing Port-au-Prince.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 27 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quake
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Verb
Mountains rise, volcanoes spew, and Earth itself quakes as the crust constantly remakes itself in the ceaseless cycle of plate tectonics.
—Elise Cutts, Scientific American, 13 May 2025
The man and his family were in their yard when the air quaked from a massive boom.
—Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 17 Apr. 2025
Noun
In 2023, powerful quakes killed more than 53,000 people in southeastern Turkey.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 May 2025
What the quake failed to do, the violence is now doing: marginalizing Port-au-Prince.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 27 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quake
Cite this Entry
“Quake.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quake. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
quake
1 of 2 verb
quaked; quaking
1
: to shake or vibrate usually from shock or lack of stability
2
: to tremble or shudder usually from cold or fear
quake
2 of 2 noun
: a shaking or trembling
especially
: earthquake
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