TOP

Definition of earthquake noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

earthquake

noun
 
 
/ˈɜːθkweɪk/
 
/ˈɜːrθkweɪk/
(also informal quake)
jump to other results
  1. a sudden, violent shaking of the earth’s surface
    • a devastating/massive/powerful earthquake
    • The earthquake measured 6.8 on the Richter scale.
    • I was asleep when the earthquake struck.
    • in an/the earthquake Much of the town was destroyed in the earthquake.
    • earthquake victims/survivors
    Extra Examples
    • It was the biggest earthquake ever recorded in the US.
    • The area has not experienced a major earthquake in more than 700 years.
    • The earthquake hit the city at two in the morning.
    • The earthquake shook buildings throughout the business district.
    • The school was built to withstand earthquakes.
    • You can't accurately predict earthquakes.
    • an organization which monitors earthquake activity
    • the evacuation of coastlines within 600 miles of the earthquake's epicentre
    • The tsunami was caused by an undersea earthquake.
    Topics The environmentb1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • big
    • great
    • huge
    • …
    verb + earthquake
    • cause
    • trigger
    • experience
    • …
    earthquake + verb
    • happen
    • hit (something)
    • occur
    • …
    earthquake + noun
    • activity
    • zone
    • survivor
    • …
    preposition
    • in an/​the earthquake
    phrases
    • the epicentre/​epicenter of an earthquake
    • the magnitude of an earthquake
    See full entry
See earthquake in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee earthquake in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: earthquake

Nearby words

halfway
adverb
 
 
From the Word list
Oxford 5000
C1
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day