noun
quarter
KAW-tuh
noun
1
One of four equal parts into which something is divided.
"Cut the apple into quarters."
"She's paid a quarter of her salary in tax."
2
A three-month period of the calendar or financial year.
"Profits rose sharply in the third quarter."
"The company reports its earnings every quarter."
3
A US or Canadian coin worth 25 cents.
"He fed a quarter into the vending machine."
"Can you break a dollar into quarters?"
4
A district or area of a town or city, often associated with a particular group.
"They wandered through the old Latin Quarter of Paris."
"The city's historic quarter is popular with tourists."
5
Fifteen minutes, as in a quarter of an hour.
"It's a quarter past three."
"We'll meet in a quarter of an hour."
verb
1
To divide something into four equal parts.
"Quarter the onions before adding them to the pot."
"The garden was quartered by two intersecting paths."
2
To provide lodging for, especially soldiers.
"Troops were quartered in the abandoned barn."
"The regiment was quartered in the town for the winter."
How to Use Quarter
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA fourth of something — of a whole, an hour, a year, a dollar, or a town — plus, as a verb, to house troops.
Common pairings
first quarter
quarter past
living quarters
quarter the population
Word Forms
quartered past tense, quartered past tense, quarters plural, quarters singular, quarters singular
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Etymology
From Latin quartarius, related to quartus, "fourth" — the same root behind quart and quarterly.