American Heritage Dictionary Entry: quarter HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key. Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window. guide to the dictionary THE USAGE PANEL The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions. The Panelists NEED HELP SOLVING A CROSSWORD PUZZLE? Go to our Crossword Puzzle Solver and type in the letters that you know, and the Solver will produce a list of possible solutions. -- AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android. THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more. OPEN DICTIONARY PROJECT Share your ideas for new words and new meanings of old words! Start Sharing Now! -- See word lists from the best-selling 100 Words Series! Find out more! INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES? Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com quar·ter (kwôrtər) Share: Tweet n. 1. One of four equal parts. 2. A coin equal to one fourth of the dollar of the United States and Canada. 3. One fourth of an hour; 15 minutes. 4. Abbr. Q a. One fourth of a year; three months: Sales were up in the second quarter. b. An academic term lasting approximately three months. 5. Astronomy a. One fourth of the period of the moon's revolution around Earth. b. One of the two phases of the moon at which the moon, as viewed from Earth, appears to be half illuminated by the sun. The quarter phases mark the quarter and three-quarter points of the moon's revolution about the Earth. 6. Sports One of four equal periods of playing time into which some games, such as football and basketball, are divided. 7. One fourth of a yard; nine inches. 8. One fourth of a mile; two furlongs. 9. One fourth of a pound; four ounces. 10. One fourth of a ton; 500 pounds. Used as a measure of grain. 11. Chiefly British A measure of grain equal to approximately eight bushels. 12. a. One fourth of a hundredweight; 25 pounds. b. One fourth of a British hundredweight; 28 pounds. 13. a. One of the four major divisions of the compass. b. One fourth of the distance between any two of the 32 divisions of the compass. c. One of the four major divisions of the horizon as determined by the four major points of the compass. d. A region or an area of the earth thought of as falling into such a specific division of the compass. e. Nautical The general direction on either side of a ship located 45° off the stern. 14. Nautical a. The upper portion of the after side of a ship, usually between the aftermost mast and the stern. b. The part of a yard between the slings and the yardarm. 15. Heraldry Any of four equal divisions of a shield. 16. One leg of an animal's carcass, usually including the adjoining parts. 17. Either side of a horse's hoof. 18. The part of the side of a shoe between the heel and the vamp. 19. quarters A place of residence, especially the buildings or barracks used to house military personnel or their dependents. 20. often quarters A proper or assigned station or place, as for officers and crew on a warship. 21. often Quarter A specific district or section, as of a city: the French Quarter. 22. often quarters An unspecified person or group: information from the highest quarters. 23. Mercy or clemency, especially when displayed or given to an enemy. adj. 1. Being one of four equal or equivalent parts. 2. Being one fourth of a standard or usual value. v. quar·tered, quar·ter·ing, quar·ters v.tr. 1. a. To divide into four equal or equivalent parts. b. To quartersaw. 2. To divide or separate into a number of parts. 3. To dismember (a human body) into four parts. 4. Heraldry To divide (a shield) into four equal areas with vertical and horizontal lines. 5. a. To mark or place (holes, for example) a fourth of a circle apart. b. To locate and adjust (one machine part) at right angles to its connecting part within the machine. 6. To furnish with housing: quartered the troops in an old factory building. 7. To traverse (an area of ground) laterally back and forth while slowly advancing forward. v.intr. 1. To take up or be assigned lodgings. 2. To cover an area of ground by ranging over it from side to side. [Middle English, from Old French quartier, from Latin quārtārius, from quārtus, fourth; see kwetwer- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] Usage Note: When referring to the time of day, the article a is optional in phrases such as (a) quarter to (or of, before, or till) nine; (a) quarter after (or past) ten. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices: Indo-European Roots Semitic Roots The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots. American Heritage Dictionary Products The American Heritage Dictionary, 5th Edition The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms The American Heritage Roget's Thesaurus Curious George's Dictionary The American Heritage Children's Dictionary CONTACT US Customer Service Make Me An Author Ebooks Help with Glose Reader ABOUT US Company Profile Leadership Team Corporate Social Responsibility HarperCollins Careers HarperCollins Imprints HarperGreen Social Media Directory Accessibility FOR READERS Browse Reading Guides FOR AUTHORS Submit a Manuscript Report Piracy Agent Portal MEDIA Publicity Contacts Press Room SERVICES HarperCollins Speakers Bureau Library Services Academic Services Desk & Exam Copies Review Copies OpenBook API Marketing Partnerships COVID-19 RESOURCES & PERMISSIONS Permissions for Adult Online Readings Permissions for Kids Online Readings SALES & RIGHTS Booksellers & Retailer Ordering HarperCollins Catalogs Permissions Subsidiary Rights Media Rights and Content Development GLOSE APP iPhone Android GLOBAL DIVISIONS HarperCollins US HarperCollins Canada HarperCollins Christian HarperCollins Australia HarperCollins India HarperCollins UK Terms of Use • Terms of Sale • Your Ad Choices • Privacy Policy • California Privacy Policy Do Not Sell My Personal Information Copyright 2022 HarperCollins Publishers All rights reserved. *This website is best viewed in Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, or Safari. Some characters in pronunciations and etymologies cannot be displayed properly in Internet Explorer.