13 results for: earthquake

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

earth·quake

Audio Help [urth-kweyk] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	a series of vibrations induced in the earth's crust by the abrupt rupture and rebound of rocks in which elastic strain has been slowly accumulating.

2.	something that is severely disruptive; upheaval.

[Origin: 1300–50; ME erthequake (see earth, quake), r. OE eorthdyne (see din)

]

—Synonyms 1. quake, tremor, shock, seism, temblor.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
earthquake

To learn more about earthquake visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

earth·quake Audio Help (ûrth'kwāk') Pronunciation Key
n. A sudden movement of the earth's crust caused by the release of stress accumulated along geologic faults or by volcanic activity. Also called seism, temblor.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
earthquake

c.1280, as eorthequakynge, from earth + quake. O.E. had eorðdin in this sense.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

earthquake
noun
1.	shaking and vibration at the surface of the earth resulting from underground movement along a fault plane of from volcanic activity
2.	a disturbance that is extremely disruptive; "selling the company caused an earthquake among the employees"

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - Cite This Source - Share This
ˈearthquake noun

a shaking of the earth's surface
Example: The village was destroyed by an earthquake.

Arabic:	زِلْزال
Chinese (Simplified):	地震
Chinese (Traditional):	地震
Czech:	zemětřesení
Danish:	jordskælv
Dutch:	aardbeving
Estonian:	maavärin
Finnish:	maanjäristys
French:	tremblement de terre
German:	das Erdbeben
Greek:	σεισμός
Hungarian:	földrengés
Icelandic:	jarðskjálfti
Indonesian:	gempa bumi
Italian:	terremoto

Japanese:	地震
Korean:	지진
Latvian:	zemestrīce
Lithuanian:	žemės drebėjimas
Norwegian:	jordskjelv
Polish:	trzęsienie ziemi
Portuguese (Brazil):	terremoto
Portuguese (Portugal):	tremor de terra
Romanian:	cutremur
Russian:	землетрясение
Slovak:	zemetrasenie
Slovenian:	potres
Spanish:	terremoto
Swedish:	jordbävning
Turkish:	deprem

See also: earth, earthen, earthenware, earthly, earthworm, on earth, run to earth

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

earthquake Audio Help (ûrth'kwāk') Pronunciation Key

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A sudden movement of the Earth's lithosphere (its crust and upper mantle). Earthquakes are caused by the release of built-up stress within rocks along geologic faults or by the movement of magma in volcanic areas. They are usually followed by aftershocks. See Note at fault.

Our Living Language : Fractures in Earth's crust, or lithosphere, where sections of rock have slipped past each other are called faults. Earthquakes are caused by the sudden release of accumulated strain along these faults, releasing energy in the form of low-frequency sound waves called seismic waves. Although thousands of earthquakes occur each year, most are too weak to be detected except by seismographs, instruments that detect and record vibrations and movements in the Earth. The point where the earthquake originates is the seismic focus, and directly above it on Earth's surface is the earthquake's epicenter. Three kinds of waves accompany earthquakes. Primary (P) waves have a push-pull type of vibration. Secondary (S) waves have a side-to-side type of vibration. Both P and S waves travel deep into Earth, reflecting off the surfaces of its various layers. S waves cannot travel through the liquid outer core. Surface (L) waves—named after the nineteenth-century British mathematician A.E.H. Love—travel along Earth's surface, causing most of the damage of an earthquake. The total amount of energy released by an earthquake is measured on the Richter scale. Each increase by 1 corresponds to a tenfold increase in strength. Earthquakes above 7 on the Richter scale are considered severe. The famous earthquake that flattened San Francisco in 1906 had a magnitude of 7.8.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
earthquake

A tremor of the surface of the Earth, sometimes severe and devastating, which results from shock waves generated by the movement of rock masses deep within the Earth, particularly near boundaries of tectonic plates. (See fault, Richter scale, and seismology.)

Note: Earthquakes are particularly likely where such plates are sliding past each other, as in the San Andreas Fault.

Note: Earthquakes cannot be accurately predicted, although the likelihood of a region's suffering an earthquake can be estimated.

[Chapter:] Earth Sciences

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

earthquake
(IBM) The ultimate real-world shock test for computer hardware. Hackish sources at IBM deny the rumor that the San Francisco Bay Area quake of 1989 was initiated by the company to test quality-assurance procedures at its California plants.
[The Jargon File]
(1995-04-22)

Jargon File - Cite This Source - Share This

earthquake

n. [IBM] The ultimate real-world shock test for computer hardware. Hackish sources at IBM deny the rumor that the Bay Area quake of 1989 was initiated by the company to test quality-assurance procedures at its California plants.

Jargon File 4.2.0

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Earthquake

Earth"quake`\, n. A shaking, trembling, or concussion of the earth, due to subterranean causes, often accompanied by a rumbling noise. The wave of shock sometimes traverses half a hemisphere, destroying cities and many thousand lives; -- called also earthdin, earthquave, and earthshock.

Earthquake alarm, a bell signal constructed to operate on the theory that a few seconds before the occurrence of an earthquake the magnet temporarily loses its power.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Earthquake

Earth"quake`\, a. Like, or characteristic of, an earthquake; loud; starling.

The earthquake voice of victory. --Byron.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Earthquake

mentioned among the extraordinary phenomena of Palestine (Ps. 18:7; comp. Hab. 3:6; Nah. 1:5; Isa. 5:25). The first earthquake in Palestine of which we have any record happened in the reign of Ahab (1 Kings 19:11, 12). Another took place in the days of Uzziah, King of Judah (Zech. 14:5). The most memorable earthquake taking place in New Testament times happened at the crucifixion of our Lord (Matt. 27:54). An earthquake at Philippi shook the prison in which Paul and Silas were imprisoned (Act 16:26). It is used figuratively as a token of the presence of the Lord (Judg. 5:4; 2 Sam. 22:8; Ps. 77:18; 97:4; 104:32).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary

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