Definition of "quarter"

A fourth part of something.

1. (in general sense) Each of four equal parts into which something can be divided; a fourth part.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • For companies such as Trans Pennine Express, it will be even harder. It has the unwelcome claim to being Britain's worst train operator, with recent statistics from the Office of Rail and Road showing it cancelled nearly a quarter of its services in February, with lack of available train crew a real problem.

     2023 April 5, Philip Haigh, “Comment: Pay deal a positive result”, in RAIL, number 980, page 3

2. (now chiefly historical) A measure of capacity used chiefly for grain or coal, varying greatly in quantity by time and location.  quotations

   Quotations

   • 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 England, volume 4, page 204

3. A fourth part of a pound; approximately 113 grams.  examples

4. (historical) A measure of length; originally a fourth part of an ell, now chiefly a fourth part of a yard.

5. (now historical) A fourth part of the night; one of the watches or divisions of the night.  quotations

   Quotations

   • And aboute the fourth quartre of the nyght, he cam unto them, walkinge apon the see [...].

     1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], Mark vj:]

6. (now chiefly financial) A fourth part of the year; 3 months; a term or season.  examples

7. (time) A fourth part of an hour; a period of fifteen minutes, especially with reference to the quarter before or after the hour.  examples

8. (now chiefly historical) A fourth part of a hundredweight.

9. (heraldry) A fourth part of a coat of arms, or the charge on it, larger than a canton and normally on the upper dexter side, formed by a perpendicular line from the top meeting a horizontal line from the side.  examples

10. (Canada, US) A quarter-dollar, divided into 25 cents; the coin of that value minted in the United States or Canada.  examples

11. (sports) One of four equal periods into which a game is divided.  examples

12. (Chester, historical) A quarter of an acre or 40 roods.

Place or position.

1. A region or place.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • I am to haste, / And all who under me thir Banners wave, / Homeward with flying march where we possess / The Quarters of the North […] .

     1667, John Milton, “(please specify the book number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […]; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873,

2. Each of four parts into which the earth or sky is divided, corresponding to the four cardinal points of the compass.  examples

3. A division or section of a town or city, especially having a particular character of its own, or associated with a particular group etc.  examples

4. One's residence or dwelling-place; (in plural) rooms, lodgings, especially as allocated to soldiers or domestic staff.  examples

5. (figurative, archaic) A topic or area of endeavour.  quotations

   Quotations

   • “I'll tell you something, too,” retorted the captain, duskily flushing. “I wouldn't sail this ship for the man you are, if you went upon your knees. I've dealt with gentlemen up to now.”“I can tell you the names of a number of gentlemen you'll never deal with any more, and that's the whole of Longhurst's gang,” said Jim. “I'll put your pipe out in that quarter, my friend. Here, rout out your traps as quick as look at it, and take your vermin along with you. I'll have a captain in, this very night, that's a sailor, and some sailors to work for him.”

     1892, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter 10, in The Wrecker

6. (nautical) The aftmost part of a vessel's side, roughly from the last mast to the stern.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • I was one morning walking the deck, when Rogers, whose watch it was, sitting upon the quarter, called to me in his usual style, ‘Come here, Bill.’

     1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 80

   • “My men, the schooner coming up on our weather quarter is a Portuguese pirate.”

     1863, Charles Reade, Hard Cash‎

7. (farriery) The part on either side of a horse's hoof between the toe and heel, the side of its coffin.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • […] at last she kicked right over the carriage pole and fell down, after giving me a severe blow on my near quarter.

     1877, Anna Sewell, chapter 23, in Black Beauty‎

(often plural) A section (of a population), especially one having a particular set of values or interests.  quotations  examples

(obsolete) Relations between people.  quotations

Accommodation given to a defeated opponent; mercy; exemption from being killed.  quotations  examples

Short forms.

1. (now rare, rugby, American football) A quarterback.

2. (military slang, now rare) A quartermaster; a quartermaster sergeant.  quotations

   Quotations

   • Tietjens said: ‘Send the Canadian sergeant-major to me at the double….’ to the quarter.

     1925, Ford Madox Ford, “Parade's End”, in No More Parades, Penguin, published 2012, page 360

3. A quarterfinal.  examples

Pertaining to an aspect of a quarter.  examples

(chiefly) Consisting of a fourth part, a quarter (1⁄4, 25%).  examples

(chiefly) Related to a three-month term, a quarter of a year.  examples

(transitive) To divide into quarters; to divide by four.  examples

(transitive) To provide housing for military personnel or other equipment.  examples

(intransitive) To lodge; to have a temporary residence.  examples

(transitive) To quartersaw.  quotations  examples

(heraldry) To display different coats of arms in the quarters of a shield.  quotations  examples

(obsolete) To drive a carriage so as to prevent the wheels from going into the ruts, or so that a rut shall be between the wheels.  quotations