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starquake

American  
[stahr-kweyk] / ˈstɑrˌkweɪk /

noun

Astronomy.

  1. a rapid change in the mass distribution or shape of a pulsar, resulting in a fluctuation of the pulsar's pulse rate or radiation intensity.

Etymology

Origin of starquake

First recorded in 1965–70; star + (earth)quake

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.

Most ideas posit some kind of jarring starquake occurring on the object or perhaps a strong spark shooting out when its twisting magnetic field lines snap and reconnect.

From Scientific American • Nov. 22, 2021

The most likely source of the power surge, scientists announced last week: a starquake on a new kind of celestial object called a magnetar.

From Time Magazine Archive

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.