quarter

1 noun

1 AMOUNT (C) one of four equal or almost equal parts into which something can be divided: Cut it into quarters.

(+ of): a quarter of a mile | in the last quarter of the 19th century | They're firing almost a quarter of the workforce. | It's about a page and a quarter.

2 PART OF AN HOUR (C) one of the four periods of 15 minutes into which each hour can be divided: I'll meet you in three-quarters of an hour. (=in 45 minutes) | quarter to BrE quarter of AmE (=15 minutes before the hour): It's a quarter of two. (=1:45) | quarter past BrE quarter after AmE (=minutes after the hour): a quarter past ten (=10:15)

3 MONEY (C) a coin in the US and Canada, worth 25 cents

4 THREE MONTHS (C) a period of three months, used especially in connection with bills, wages, and income: The company's profits rose by 11% in the first quarter of the year.

—see also: quarterly 1

5 PART OF A CITY (C) an area of a town or city where a particular kind of people typically live or work: the student quarter | We took a rented house in the Creole quarter of New Orleans.

6 HOME quarters (plural) a house or rooms where you can live, especially in the army: staff quarters | married quarters (=where soldiers with wives live)

7 in/from ... quarters in or from different groups of people: Offers of financial help came from the most unexpected quarters. | There were doubts in many quarters about the country's ability to repay the debt.

8 all quarters of the Earth/globe literary everywhere in the world

9 give no quarter old use to show no pity towards someone, especially an enemy whom you have defeated: It was a fight to the death, with no quarter given.

10 WEIGHT (C) BrE a unit for measuring weight, equal to 28 pounds or about 13 kilos

11 AT COLLEGE (C) AmE a period of 10 to 12 weeks into which a teaching year is divided in some American colleges and universities: What classes are you taking this quarter?

12 SPORT (C) one of the four equal periods of time into which games of some sports are divided

13 MOON (C) the period of time twice a month when you can see a quarter of the moon's surface

14 MEAT (C) a large piece of meat from a large animal, including one of its legs: a quarter of beef

—see also: at close quarters close 2 (2) 2 verb (T)

1 to cut or divide something into four parts: Quarter the tomatoes and place them round the dish.

2 old use to provide soldiers, workers etc with a place to sleep and eat: Our forces were quartered in tents on the edge of the woods.