Standard Lemma guide

foreshock

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A small earth tremor which precedes the mainshock in an earthquake sequence.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: geography, geology, natural-sciences, seismology

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Any shock or disturbance that precedes an event

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a tremor preceding an earthquake

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: tremor, earth tremor, microseism

History

Etymology

From fore- + shock.

Across languages

Translations

9 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 前震 (qiánzhèn) — tremor preceding the mainshock in earthquake
  • Finnish: esijäristys — tremor preceding the mainshock in earthquake
  • Greek: προσεισμός (proseismós) — tremor preceding the mainshock in earthquake
  • Hungarian: előrengés — tremor preceding the mainshock in earthquake
  • Irish: réamhchrith — tremor preceding the mainshock in earthquake
  • Japanese: 前震 (zenshin) — tremor preceding the mainshock in earthquake
  • Polish: wstępne trzęsienie ziemi o słabej magnitudzie — tremor preceding the mainshock in earthquake
  • Spanish: sismo inicial — tremor preceding the mainshock in earthquake
  • Spanish: sismo premonitor — tremor preceding the mainshock in earthquake