the Richter scale
noun
technical
: a system of measurement used for showing the strength of an earthquake
The earthquake measured 4.5 on the Richter scale.
Examples of the Richter scale in a Sentence
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Centered below Sagami Bay, thirty miles south of Tokyo, and measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, the first shocks lasted for fourteen seconds.
—
Joshua Hammer, The New York Review of Books, 19 Mar. 2026
Since its official founding in 1920 as a successor to Pasadena’s Throop University, the campus has served as a breeding ground for Nobel Prize winners and an incubator for historic innovations, among them the Richter scale, antiretroviral therapies, and the discovery of gravitational waves.
—Mayer Rus, Architectural Digest, 5 Feb. 2026
Much like the Richter scale for earthquakes, each higher class is a 10-fold increase in energy.
—Amanda Greenwood, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Dec. 2025
Keep in mind that the Richter scale is non-linear, meaning that a 9.0 is much stronger than a 7.0.
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Despite this difference in relative strength, around 222,000 people died in the Haiti Earthquake, whereas nearly 20,000 people died during 3.11.
—Wesley Cheek, Time, 1 Nov. 2025
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Joshua Hammer, The New York Review of Books, 19 Mar. 2026
Since its official founding in 1920 as a successor to Pasadena’s Throop University, the campus has served as a breeding ground for Nobel Prize winners and an incubator for historic innovations, among them the Richter scale, antiretroviral therapies, and the discovery of gravitational waves.
—Mayer Rus, Architectural Digest, 5 Feb. 2026
Much like the Richter scale for earthquakes, each higher class is a 10-fold increase in energy.
—Amanda Greenwood, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Dec. 2025
Keep in mind that the Richter scale is non-linear, meaning that a 9.0 is much stronger than a 7.0.
Advertisement
Despite this difference in relative strength, around 222,000 people died in the Haiti Earthquake, whereas nearly 20,000 people died during 3.11.
—Wesley Cheek, Time, 1 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for the Richter scale
Cite this Entry
“The Richter scale.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20Richter%20scale. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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