Spanish word

terremoto

Pronunciation

IPA/tereˈmoto/

Meaning

  • masculine nounearthquake

Example

¿Sentiste el terremoto?

Did you feel the earthquake?

Illustration for terremoto (earthquake)

More examples

Después del terremoto hubo réplicas durante horas.

After the earthquake, there were aftershocks for hours.

Core concept

Perceptible seismic event whose shaking can injure people or damage property.

Common phrases

  • sentir el terremoto

    feel the earthquake

  • réplicas del terremoto

    aftershocks

  • epicentro del terremoto

    earthquake epicenter

Similar words

sismo: Shift in the earth's crust that produces ground shaking of any severity.
temblor: Brief, minor shaking of the ground that lasts only moments and rarely causes damage.

Definition in Spanish

Evento sísmico que produce temblores perceptibles y que, en casos intensos, provoca daños materiales y humanos.

Word origin

From the Latin roots terra 'earth' and motus 'movement', the medieval form terraemotus yields the Spanish terremoto.

Usage tips

  • In news and everyday speech terremoto is used for quakes that cause damage, while technical reports often use sismo for any seismic event.

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