verb

• (transitive) To satisfy, especially a literal or figurative thirst.
  "The library quenched her thirst for knowledge."
• (transitive) To extinguish or put out (as a fire or light).
  "[…] others ſaying, the fire would ceaſe as ſoon as it had vent, uncovered a great part of the houſe, breaking down the roofs, and destroying all that ſtood in their way. None of them went about to quench the fire, but all were employed in pulling down the houſe, […]"
• (transitive, metallurgy) 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."
• (transitive, chemistry) To terminate or greatly diminish (a chemical reaction) by destroying or deforming the remaining reagents.

noun

• (physics) The abnormal termination of operation of a superconducting magnet, occurring when part of the superconducting coil enters the normal (resistive) state.
  "There are two main types of quenches, and both are triggered by the red button. A customer of ours actually pushed his once, out of curiosity. And no, he was not 7 years old. This button is primarily for safety purposes. In some rare cases, clear signage is ignored and metal objects like mop buckets, oxygen tanks, etc. get sucked into the bore of the MRI. These are very difficult to remove while the magnet is at field. And, if a patient is somehow pinned inside, an emergency push of the quench button can be a lifesaver. The button artificially heats the magnet and starts the chain reaction described above."
• (physics) A rapid change of the parameters of a physical system.