Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

quench

Syllabification: (quench)
Pronunciation: /kwenCH/
Translate quench | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of quench

verb

[with object]
  • 1satisfy (one’s thirst) by drinking.
  • satisfy (a desire):he only pursued her to quench an aching need
  • 2extinguish (a fire):firemen hauled on hoses in a desperate bid to quench the flames
  • stifle or suppress (a feeling):fury rose in him, but he quenched it
  • rapidly cool (red-hot metal or other material), especially in cold water or oil.
  • Physics & Electronics suppress or damp (an effect such as luminescence, or an oscillation or discharge).

noun

  • an act of quenching something very hot.

Derivatives

quenchable

adjective

quencher

noun
(chiefly Physics & Metallurgy)

quenchless

adjective
( literary)

Origin:

Old English -cwencan (in acwencan 'put out, extinguish'), of Germanic origin

quench in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of quench in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

  |  Cite
Oxford Dictionaries Pro

For Oxford's best resources for writers, plus thesaurus, audio, and 1.9m examples.

GET PRO ►

Shop for an Oxford dictionary
Find the perfect Oxford dictionary for you in our online shop.
SHOP NOW ►

Word of the day

monocular

/ məˈnäkyələr /
adjective , noun
with, for, or in one eye …