verb To satisfy, especially a literal or figurative thirst.
The library quenched her thirst for knowledge.
verb To extinguish or put out (as a fire or light).
verb 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.
verb To terminate or greatly diminish (a chemical reaction) by destroying or deforming the remaining reagents.
verb To rapidly change the parameters of a physical system.
verb 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.
noun The act of quenching something; the fact of being quenched.
noun The abnormal termination of operation of a superconducting magnet, occurring when part of the superconducting coil enters the normal (resistive) state.