quench

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   To satisfy, especially a literal or figurative thirst.

   • The library quenched her thirst for knowledge.
   • The wearie Traueiler, wandring that way, / Therein did often quench his thriſty heat, / And then by it his wearie limbes diſplay, / Whiles creeping ſlomber made him to forget[…]
   • I began also to feel very hungry, as not having eaten for twenty-four hours; and worse than that, there was a parching thirst and dryness in my throat, and nothing with which to quench it.
2. 2

   To extinguish or put out (as a fire or light).

   • “From here you will see which one of us two stands up...when the fiery vomit is quenched.”
3. 3

   To cool rapidly by direct contact with liquid coolant, as a blacksmith quenching hot iron.

   • The swordsmith quenched the sword in an oil bath so that it wouldn't shatter.
4. ›+ 6 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      To terminate or greatly diminish (a chemical reaction) by destroying or deforming the…

      To terminate or greatly diminish (a chemical reaction) by destroying or deforming the remaining reagents.

   2. 5

      To rapidly change the parameters of a physical system.

      • A suitable method to prepare a system out of equilibrium in order to study the ensuing dynamics is to quench the system, i.e., to change its parameters abruptly.
   3. 6

      To rapidly terminate the operation of a superconducting electromagnet by causing part or…

      To rapidly terminate the operation of a superconducting electromagnet by causing part or all of the magnet's windings to enter the normal, resistive state.

      • If someone is pinned against the MRI magnet by a ferromagnetic object, you may need to quench the magnet in order to free them.
   4. 7

      The act of quenching something

      The act of quenching something; the fact of being quenched.

      • Then the MacManus [i.e. a ship] went down. The sudden quench of the white light was how I knew it.
   5. 8

      The abnormal termination of operation of a superconducting magnet, occurring when part of…

      The abnormal termination of operation of a superconducting magnet, occurring when part of the superconducting coil enters the normal (resistive) state.

   6. 9

      A rapid change of the parameters of a physical system.

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