earth ‧ quake /ˈɜːθkweɪk $ ˈɜːrθ-/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
a sudden shaking of the earth’s surface that often causes a lot of damage ⇨ seismic :
An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale struck southern California on June 28.
The city is in an earthquake zone.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ big/large
This is the biggest earthquake ever recorded in this area.
▪ small
The town experiences dozens of small earthquakes every year.
▪ powerful (=with a lot of force)
Flights were cancelled after a powerful earthquake shook the northwest of the country.
▪ a major earthquake (=very big)
If a major earthquake hits a large city, millions could die.
▪ a minor earthquake (=a small one)
Minor earthquakes are relatively common.
▪ a great/massive earthquake (=extremely big)
1906 is remembered for the great earthquake that destroyed San Francisco.
▪ a severe/devastating earthquake (=causing a lot of damage)
The whole town was flattened by a devastating earthquake.
■ verbs
▪ an earthquake happens ( also an earthquake occurs formal )
Scientists cannot predict when an earthquake will occur.
▪ an earthquake hits/strikes a place (=happens in a particular place)
The region was struck by a major earthquake last year.
▪ an earthquake destroys/damages something
The earthquake completely destroyed all the buildings on the island.
▪ an earthquake measures 5/6.4 etc on the Richter Scale
The earthquake, which measured 7.6 on the Richter scale, left more than 20,000 homeless.
■ phrases
▪ the magnitude of an earthquake (=how powerful it is)
Measuring stations identify the location and magnitude of an earthquake within a few minutes of the event.
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THESAURUS
▪ earthquake a sudden shaking of the earth’s surface:
The earthquake destroyed homes, telephone lines and roads.
▪ quake informal an earthquake – used especially in journalism:
More than 2000 people died when a quake hit the island of Flores.
▪ tremor a small movement in the earth’s surface in which the ground shakes slightly:
He was awoken by a series of tremors during the night.
▪ aftershock further movements in the earth’s surface that happen after a larger earthquake:
In the days after the earthquake, the area suffered a series of aftershocks.
▪ tsunami an ocean wave caused by an earthquake under the water:
There was no warning of the approaching tsunami.