EPICENTER Definition & Meaning

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epicenter

[ ep-uh-sen-ter ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Also Geology. a point, directly above the true center of disturbance, from which the shock waves of an earthquake apparently radiate.
a focal point, as of activity:
Manhattan's Chinatown is the epicenter of the city's Chinese community.

epicenter

/ ĕ��′ĭ-��ĕ��′tə�� /

The point on the Earth's surface that is directly above the focus (the point of origin) of an earthquake. The epicenter is usually the location where the greatest damage associated with an earthquake occurs.
See Note at earthquake

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Other 51�Թ� Forms

��i·��t�� adjective

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of epicenter¹

1885–90; < New Latin epicentrum < Greek ��í��Գٰ��ǲ� on the center. See epi-, center

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Example Sentences

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“It really has been the epicenter of some natural disasters,” Boiano said.

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Creating a second epicenter in Woodland Hills allows the Rams to significantly increase the size of their footprint in the market.

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“I do think that we’re the epicenter of baseball,” he said.

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The virus then forced my wife Elvira and I to live apart from each other for the next 18 months — I in New York City, she in Italy, the two worldwide epicenters.

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Kern County — A magnitude 5.2 earthquake, the strongest to strike the region in three years, shook Southern California on Aug. 6, with an epicenter northwest of the Grapevine.

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