quarter
noun · adjective · verb
Simple meaning
Each of four equal parts into which something can be divided.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kwawrterSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkwɔɹtɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
in general sense
Each of four equal parts into which something can be divided; a fourth part.
One of four equal parts
A fourth part of a year; three months
“Unemployment fell during the last quarter.”
A fourth part of a pound; approximately 113 grams.
canadaus
A quarter-dollar, divided into 25 cents; the coin of that value minted in the United States or Canada.
Place or position.
adjective
chiefly
Related to a three-month term, a quarter of a year.
Pertaining to an aspect of a quarter.
chiefly
Consisting of a fourth part, a quarter (¹⁄₄, 25%).
verb
intransitive
To lodge; to have a temporary residence.
transitive
To range to and fro over an area; to move from point to point.
transitive
To divide into quarters; to divide by four.
transitive
To quartersaw.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (in general sense) Each of four equal parts into which something can be divided; a fourth part.
Used this way, quarter is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use quarter
- “Unemployment fell during the last quarter.”noun
- “The fall quarter ends at Christmas.”noun
- “Both teams scored in the first quarter.”noun
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
One of four equal parts.
Synonym of quarter ("one of four equal parts").
A quarter, one of four equal parts of a whole.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Housing available for people to live in.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
In a way that relates to Each of four equal parts into which something can be divided.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Half of a semitone.
Woody flowering vine of southern United States.
A period of 25 years.
A quarter of the circumference of a circle.
A crack on the inside of a horse's forefoot.
A Christian holy day.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Any of three points that divide an ordered distribution into four parts each containing one quarter of the scores.
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “quarter” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.