quarter

KWOR-tur/ˈk(w)ɔɹ.tɚ/UKKWOR-tuh/ˈk(w)ɔː.tə/

Pluralquarters

Verbquarters, quartering, quartered

33 meanings of quarter

Practice

1
fourth of wholenouncountable
One of four equal parts of something.
Like cutting a pizza into four equal slices and taking one.
I gave my friend a quarter of my sandwich.
Three quarters of the students passed the test.
UsageSay a quarter of something. Use is or are to match the thing after of.
Similarfourth
2
three monthsnouncountable
A period of three months, often used by businesses to measure their results.
Like splitting the year into four equal blocks of three months.
The store had its best quarter ever this summer.
Sales went up in the final quarter of the year.
UsageSay in the second quarter. The adjective is quarterly: quarterly reports.
Note
3
game periodnouncountable
One of the four equal time periods that make up a game.
Like dividing a game into four equal parts with short breaks between them.
Our team scored twice in the first quarter.
He was injured during the final quarter of the match.
UsageSay in the third quarter. Some games have halves or periods instead.
Similarperiod
4
coinnounCanadaUScountable
A coin worth 25 cents in the United States or Canada.
Like one coin out of four that together make a whole dollar.
I found a quarter under the couch cushion.
She put two quarters into the parking meter.
UsageSay pay with quarters or put a quarter in the meter.
Note
5
part of townnouncountable
A part of a town or city, often with its own special character.
Like a neighborhood with its own special feel, different from the rest of town.
We spent the evening in the old quarter of the city.
The artists' quarter is full of small galleries.
Similardistrict, neighborhood, area, sector, zone
6
last eightnouncountable or uncountableabbreviation
One of the four matches that decides who moves on to the semifinals.
He won his quarter and will play in the semifinal on Friday.
They lost in the quarters after a close match.
UsageIt means quarterfinal: she reached the quarters.
Similarquarterfinal
7
living spacenounusually plural
The place where someone lives, or the rooms given to soldiers or staff.
Like the bedrooms set aside for the people who live and work in one place.
The soldiers settled into their quarters after the long journey.
The soldier and his wife lived in a married quarter near the camp.
UsageUsually quarters: living quarters.
Similarlodgings, accommodation, residence, dwelling, rooms
Note
8
fifteen minutesnouncountable
A period of fifteen minutes, often used when telling the time before or after the hour.
Like splitting one hour into four equal parts of fifteen minutes each.
We waited a quarter of an hour for the bus.
It's a quarter past three, so we should leave soon.
UsageSay a quarter past nine or a quarter to nine.
Note
9
every three monthsadjective
Happening every three months, or covering a three-month part of the year.
The company posted strong first-quarter sales.
Rent here is due on each quarter day.
UsageToday people usually say quarterly: quarterly reports.
Similarquarterly
Note
10
one-fourth amountadjective
Being one fourth of something, as in a quarter teaspoon or a quarter share.
Add a quarter cup of sugar to the mix.
She waited a quarter mile from the gate.
UsageSay a quarter mile or a quarter of a mile.
11
social groupnounusually plural
A part of a group of people, especially one with its own beliefs or interests.
Like one group within a crowd that shares the same views.
The plan was welcomed in some quarters but disliked in others.
Criticism came from one influential quarter of the party.
UsageSay from some quarters: from some groups of people.
Similarcircle, section, sector, camp, faction
Note
12
regionnouncountable
A place, area, or direction something comes from, such as north, south, east, or west.
Like a corner of the world that news or help can come from.
The wind seemed to blow from every quarter.
People came from all quarters of the world to see the show.
Similardirection, region, area, source
13
sweep acrossverbtransitive
To move back and forth across a place, going from one spot to another.
Hawks quarter the field, looking for mice in the grass.
A big bird was quartering the field, flying low over the grass.
Similarcomb, scour, crisscross, search

Less common meanings

14
cut in fourverbtransitive
To cut or split something into four equal parts.
Like cutting a sandwich into four equal pieces.
Quarter the potatoes before boiling them.
He quartered the apple for the children.
15
fourth of poundnouncountable
A weight equal to a fourth of a pound, about 113 grams.
She bought a quarter of cheese at the market.
At the sweet shop, Grandad always asked for a quarter of toffees to share.
16
mercynoununcountable
Mercy shown to a beaten enemy by letting them live.
Like choosing to spare someone in a fight instead of hurting them more.
The victorious soldiers gave quarter to those who surrendered.
The enemy begged for quarter as the battle ended.
UsageSay give no quarter: show no mercy.
Similarmercy, clemency, leniency, pity
Note
17
house soldiersverbtransitive
To give people, especially soldiers, a place to stay, or to stay somewhere for a while.
Like giving visiting workers rooms to sleep in.
The town had to quarter the soldiers during the war.
They quartered the troops in empty barns.
UsageSay soldiers were quartered in a place.
Similarbillet, lodge, house, accommodate
18
kill as punishmentverbhistoricaltransitive
To cut the body of a person put to death into four pieces, as a punishment.
The king ordered his soldiers to quarter the captured rebel.
They threatened to quarter the traitor before the whole crowd.
UsageYou often see it in hanged, drawn and quartered.
Note
19
shield sectionnouncountable
In a coat of arms, one of four sections of the shield, usually in a top corner.
The artist painted a lion in the first quarter of the shield.
The top left quarter of the shield shows a gold lion.
Note
20
combine shieldsverbtransitive
To show more than one family's coat of arms in the sections of a single shield.
The family chose to quarter the arms of both parents.
Nobles often quartered several emblems into one shield.
Note
21
rear of shipnouncountable
The back part of a ship's side, between the last mast and the stern.
Like the back corner of a car, but on a ship.
A big wave struck the ship on the quarter.
The wave struck the ship on her port quarter and pushed her off course.
Note
22
nounslangcountableabbreviation
In the army, the soldier in charge of supplies and living space for the troops.
Tietjens said: ‘Send the Canadian sergeant-major to me at the double….’ to the quarter.
1925, Ford Madox Ford, “Parade's End”Here, the quarter means the soldier in charge of supplies, the quartermaster.
Note
23
nounrarecountableabbreviation
In American football, the player who leads the team's attack and passes the ball.
Note
24
noun
An old unit for measuring grain or coal, with an amount that changed over time and place.
One of these is 1 Hen. V, cap. 10, defining the quarter of corn to be eight struck bushels, and putting fines on purveyors who take more.
1882, James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in EnglandHere, quarter means an old unit for measuring grain, here eight bushels.
25
noun
An old measure of length equal to a fourth of a yard, about nine inches.
26
noun
An old weight equal to a fourth of a hundredweight, about 28 pounds.
27
noun
One of the four parts into which the night was once divided.
28
noun
On a horse's hoof, the side area between the toe at the front and the heel at the back.
29
noun
A piece of land a fourth of an acre in size.
30
nounarchaic
A field of interest or activity.
31
nounobsolete
How people get on with each other.
In quarter, and in terms like bride and groom.
c. 1603, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”
32
verb
To saw a log into quarters, then into boards that show a straight, even grain.
33
verbobsolete
To steer a coach so its wheels keep out of the grooves in a road.
Every creature that met us would rely upon us for quartering
1821, [Thomas De Quincey], Confessions of an English Opium-Eater

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of quarter apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

It came through Middle English and Anglo-Norman from Latin quartarius, from quartus, meaning fourth.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

Quarter came through Middle English and Anglo-Norman from Latin quartarius, derived from quartus. en.wiktionary.org
Quartus means “fourth”; quartarius is the derivative glossed as “one-fourth”. en.wiktionary.org