Earthquake
/ˈɜːrθkweɪk/
Definitions
A sudden and often destructive shaking of the ground.
/ˈɜːrθkweɪk/
A sudden and violent shaking of the ground, sometimes causing great destruction.
The earthquake caused significant damage to the buildings.
💡 Simply: Imagine the ground suddenly starts to wiggle and shake, like when you drop something heavy! That's an earthquake. They can be scary and make things fall down.
👶 For kids: When the ground shakes and rumbles really hard, it's called an earthquake!
More Examples
They felt a minor earthquake earlier this morning.
The tremors from the earthquake were felt miles away.
How It's Used
"Scientists study earthquakes to understand the Earth's internal structure."
"The earthquake caused widespread damage and loss of life."
"Aid organizations provided relief efforts following the earthquake."
Idioms & expressions
ride out the earthquake
To survive a difficult or challenging situation.
"The company managed to ride out the economic earthquake and emerge stronger."
From Middle English *erthequake*, from *erthe* (earth) + *quake* (to shake). The word reflects a direct observation of the ground shaking, the primary characteristic of the event.
The term 'earthquake' has been used since the Middle Ages, and the concept has existed since the earliest human records. Historical accounts document the effects of earthquakes and the fear they inspired.
Memory tip
Think of the EARTH shaking like a cake in a QUAKE.