quench
Americanverb (used with object)
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to slake, satisfy, or allay (thirst, desires, passion, etc.).
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to put out or extinguish (fire, flames, etc.).
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to cool suddenly by plunging into a liquid, as in tempering steel by immersion in water.
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to subdue or destroy; overcome; quell.
to quench an uprising.
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Electronics. to terminate (the flow of electrons in a vacuum tube) by application of a voltage.
verb
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to satisfy (one's thirst, desires, etc); slake
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to put out (a fire, flame, etc); extinguish
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to put down or quell; suppress
to quench a rebellion
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to cool (hot metal) by plunging it into cold water
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physics to reduce the degree of (luminescence or phosphorescence) in (excited molecules or a material) by adding a suitable substance
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electronics
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to suppress (sparking) when the current is cut off in an inductive circuit
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to suppress (an oscillation or discharge) in a component or device
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Other Word Forms
- quenchable adjective
- quenchableness noun
- quencher noun
- quenchless adjective
- unquenchable adjective
- unquenched adjective
Etymology
Origin of quench
1150–1200; Middle English quenchen, earlier cwenken; compare Old English -cwencan in ācwencan to quench ( cf. a- 3)
Explanation
Quench means to put out, put an end to, or satisfy. If you're stranded in the middle of the desert with nothing to drink, you're probably dreaming of a nice big glass of ice water to quench your thirst. Quench originally meant “extinguish fires.” That meaning still works today, but we've expanded it to also apply to quenching the fiery thirst of a summer marathon runner or quenching the hot flames of passion. If you want to get deep about the word quench, consider what Voltaire said: “Superstition sets the whole world in flames; philosophy quenches them.”
Vocabulary lists containing quench
Where the Red Fern Grows
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"There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury (1950)
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40 SAT words Beginning with "Q"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But Murree, founded in 1860 to quench the thirst of British soldiers and the colonial community during the Raj, has survived Islamist opposition and strict regulations to become one of Pakistan's most well-known companies.
From Barron's • Dec. 24, 2025
The LAFD, she said, didn’t have enough firefighters, based at enough fire stations, to quench the wind-driven flames that were tearing through the hills.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 17, 2025
On the other hand, they wrote, allowing potentially defective drugs to be widely used is akin to "drinking poison to quench thirst".
From BBC • Feb. 11, 2025
Through fingerlike projections that descend upon the uterine wall, it attempts to quench the embryo’s appetite for maternal blood.
From Slate • Sep. 7, 2024
The sun was blistering and there didn’t seem to be enough water in the world to quench my thirst.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
