foreshock
"foreshock" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“foreshock” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small earth tremor which precedes the mainshock in an earthquake sequence.
Corpus desk
Index EN-foreshock · foreshock · English
foreshock · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "F" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | foreshock |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “foreshock” in English
Rare enough to double-check
foreshock is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for foreshock in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From fore- + shock. The correct English form is foreshock, spelled F-O-R-E-S-H-O-C-K.
Definition
- 1A small earth tremor which precedes the mainshock in an earthquake sequence.
- 2Any shock or disturbance that precedes an event
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how foreshock appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The FY 1981 increases in defense — something of a "foreshock" to the rapid rise in defense spending over the next several years — were prompted by the fall of the Shah in Iran and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Etymology
From fore- + shock.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.