What does aftershock mean?
Word: Aftershock
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Aftershock means an earthquake that follows a big one, often in the same area. It can also mean a later effect of a shocking event.
How do you spell aftershock?
Syllables: af - ter - shock
Tricky part: It is one closed word, with no space or hyphen in the middle.
Watch out for: aftershok, aftrshock, aftershoke
Memory tip: Picture the ground shaking again after the main quake: two everyday words joined with no gap.
Aftershock in a sentence
Example 1: People stayed outdoors all night because they feared an aftershock.
Example 2: The aftershock rattled windows across the town just before dawn.
Example 3: The team felt the aftershock of the surprise loss for days.
Fun Fact
Aftershocks can go on for months or even years after a large earthquake, and now and then one is strong enough to cause fresh damage.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Only one of these compound words is spelt correctly. Choose it:
a) wildfier
b) earthquaik
c) aftershock
d) lanslide
Show answer
c) aftershock. Wildfire ends in fire, earthquake in quake, and landslide needs a d before the s.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
afterschock
a) s
b) h
c) c
d) k
Show answer
c) c. Shock starts sh, with no c before the h.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
skroatchef
a) aftertaste
b) aftershock
c) afterthought
d) afterwards
Show answer
b) aftershock. Only aftershock uses all ten letters; the others need letters the jumble lacks, such as a w, a g or extra t's.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) aftershock
b) epicentre
c) siesmic
d) tremor
Show answer
c) siesmic. Seismic has e before i after the s; aftershock, epicentre and tremor are all spelt correctly.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which is usually true of an aftershock?
a) It happens only under the sea.
b) It is weaker than the main quake.
c) It is stronger than the main quake.
d) It can be predicted to the minute.
Show answer
b) It is weaker than the main quake.
2. A piece of sad news can leave an aftershock, which is ____.
a) a report in the paper
b) a second small earthquake
c) the noise of a crowd
d) an upset that lingers later
Show answer
d) an upset that lingers later
