hypocentre

hy·po·cen·tre
H4Y4P3O1C3E1N1T1R1E1

noun

The focus of an earthquake, directly under the epicentre.

Opposite
epicentre
OriginAncient Greek ὑπο- →
Scrabble 20
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Meanings

nounhypocentre (plural hypocentres)

plural hypocentres · alternative hypocenter

  1. geographyThe focus of an earthquake, directly under the epicentre.
  2. governmentThe point on the surface below an atmospheric explosion; ground zero.

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
epicentre
Narrower
ground zero

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekκέντρον“centre”
  2. Ancient Greekὑπο-“under-, sub-”
  3. Englishhypocentre

From hypo- + centre; from Ancient Greek ὑπο- (hupo-, “under-, sub-”) and Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron, “centre”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans hiposentrum
  • hiposentrumfocus of an earthquake
Catalan hipocentre
  • hipocentrefocus of an earthquake
Chinese Cantonese 震源
  • 震源 (zan³ jyun⁴)focus of an earthquake
Chinese Mandarin 震源
  • 震源 (zhènyuán)focus of an earthquake
Dutch hypocentrum
  • hypocentrumfocus of an earthquake
Esperanto hipocentro
  • hipocentrofocus of an earthquake
Finnish hyposentri
  • hyposentrifocus of an earthquake
French hypocentre
  • hypocentrefocus of an earthquake
German Hypozentrum
  • Hypozentrumfocus of an earthquake
Greek υπόκεντρο
  • υπόκεντρο (ypókentro)focus of an earthquake
Indonesian hiposentrum
  • hiposentrumfocus of an earthquake
Italian ipocentro
  • ipocentrofocus of an earthquake
Japanese 震源
  • 震源 (shingen)focus of an earthquake
Korean 진원
  • 진원 (jinwon)focus of an earthquake
Malay hipopusat
  • hipopusatfocus of an earthquake
Portuguese hipocentro
  • hipocentrofocus of an earthquake
Romanian hipocentru, focar seismic
  • hipocentrufocus of an earthquake
  • focar seismicfocus of an earthquake
Spanish hipocentro
  • hipocentrofocus of an earthquake
Turkish deprem merkezi, deprem ocağı
  • deprem merkezifocus of an earthquake
  • deprem ocağıfocus of an earthquake
  • deprem odağıfocus of an earthquake

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with hypocentre

centerentercentrementorinventorpresenterrenterreenterventerstentortormentoraugmenterpreventerdissentertenterfermenterindenterdementorfermentoraccentorincenterabsenterassenterbarycentre
All rhymes →

Anagrams

hypocenternephrocytenecrophyte
Cite this entry
APA

hypocentre. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hypocentre

MLA

“hypocentre.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hypocentre. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hypocentre,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hypocentre.

Source: hypocentre on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.