Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A minor tremor of the earth that precedes a larger earthquake originating at approximately the same location.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun geology A small
earth tremor which precedes themainshock in anearthquake sequence. Not all mainshocks have foreshocks.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a tremor preceding an earthquake
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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When we get a swarm like the one in Berkeley, it doesn't come with a tag that says it is a foreshock.
Seismologist on What Berkeley Quakes Mean Geoffrey A. Fowler 2012
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There was a major tremor, magnitude 7.9, just two days ago - what now looks like a foreshock.
Japan: The 'Big One' hit, but not where they thought it would 2011
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The post-Lehman banking crisis could yet prove to have been just the foreshock.
Choice for EU: Bail Out Greece or Bail Your Banks Alen Mattich 2011
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If the team's results are correct, then this swarm is probably not a foreshock of something larger on the Hayward Fault.
Seismologist on What Berkeley Quakes Mean Geoffrey A. Fowler 2012
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There was a major tremor, magnitude 7.9, just two days ago - what now looks like a foreshock.
Japan: The 'Big One' hit, but not where they thought it would 2011
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Smaller aftershocks often accompany a large quake, and scientists say there is a small—and decreasing—chance that Tuesday's quake could actually be the foreshock to a bigger quake.
Quakes Can Reach Farther On East Coast Tamara Audi 2011
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It has been longer than that, so now we believe the 7.0 was the major quake and not a foreshock, thanks goodness, to a larger quake.
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Occasionally there will be foreshocks, but unfortunately, we never really know when a smaller earthquake is a foreshock and when it isn't, and as far as I know we really didn't have any particular warning for this earthquake.
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It would be bigger than the original quake, then the original quake would be a foreshock rather than the aftershock.
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A foreshock to Thursday's earthquake occurred in April 2009, when the stock of Dendreon
How The Dow's Dramatic Plunge Could Have Been Prevented James J. Angel 2010
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