quarter
quarter
/ˈkwɔːtə(r)/
1 of 4 parts
(also fourth especially in North American English)
1 countable one of four equal parts of something quarter of something
a quarter of an hour/a century
a quarter of a mile/million
Almost a quarter of respondents reported employment discrimination.
three quarters of all potential customers
The programme lasted an hour and a quarter.
Cut the apple into quarters.
The theatre was about three quarters full.
(especially North American English) He completed his last work a quarter century ago.
Collocations
verb + quarter
break something into quarters cut something into quarters divide something into quarters preposition
quarter of
15 minutes
2 countable a period of 15 minutes either before or after every hour It’s (a) quarter to four now—I’ll meet you at (a) quarter past.
(North American English also) It's quarter of four now—I'll meet you at quarter after.
3 months
3 countable a period of three months, used especially as a period for which bills are paid or a company’s income is calculated The rent is due at the end of each quarter.
Our gas bill for the last quarter was much higher than usual.
Sales were down 10% in the first quarter of 2009.
part of town
the historic quarter of the city
As a student in Paris, she loved the Latin quarter.
The robbery took place in a normally quiet quarter of the town.
person/group
5 countable a person or group of people, especially as a source of help, information or a reaction Support for the plan came from an unexpected quarter.
The news was greeted with dismay in some quarters.
The move was met with complaints from all quarters (= from everyone).
25 cents
6 countable a coin of the US and Canada worth 25 cents rooms to live in
7 quarters plural rooms that are provided for soldiers, servants, etc. to live in We were moved to more comfortable living quarters.
the servants'/officers' quarters
Collocations
adjective
verb + quarters
be confined to
of moon
8 countable the period of time twice a month when we can see a quarter of the moon The moon is in its first quarter.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
in sport
9 countable one of the four periods of time into which a game of American football is divided Ford scored the winning touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
weight
10 countable (British English) a unit for measuring weight, a quarter of a pound; 4 ounces 11 countable a unit for measuring weight, 28 pounds in the UK or 25 pounds in the US; a quarter of a hundredweight pity
12 uncountable (literary) kind treatment of an enemy or opponent who is in your power His rivals knew that they could expect no quarter from such a ruthless adversary.
Idioms
quarter
/ˈkwɔːtə(r)/
divide into 4
1 quarter something to cut or divide something into four parts
She peeled and quartered an apple.
provide rooms
2 quarter somebody (+ adv./prep.) (formal) to provide somebody with a place to eat and sleep
The soldiers were quartered in the town.
Word Origin
Middle English: from Old French quartier, from Latin quartarius ‘fourth part of a measure’, from quartus ‘fourth’, from quattuor ‘four’.