Quarter has 24 different meanings across 3 categories:
Noun · Verb · Proper Noun
one of four equal parts
"a quarter of a pound"
(football, professional basketball) one of four divisions into which some games are divided
"both teams scored in the first quarter"
a unit of time equal to 15 minutes or a quarter of an hour
"it's a quarter til 4"
"a quarter after 4 o'clock"
one of four periods into which the school year is divided
"the fall quarter ends at Christmas"
a quarter of a hundredweight (25 pounds)
"The farmer weighed each sack to ensure it contained exactly a quarter of a hundredweight before shipping them to the market."
a quarter of a hundredweight (28 pounds)
"The farmer weighed out two quarters of hay to feed the horses for the night."
a United States or Canadian coin worth one fourth of a dollar
"he fed four quarters into the slot machine"
the rear part of a ship
"The captain ordered the crew to secure the quarter before the storm hit."
piece of leather that comprises the part of a shoe or boot covering the heel and joining the vamp
"The cobbler carefully glued a new quarter onto the worn-out boot to reinforce the heel area."
A fourth part of something.
"She saved a quarter of her paycheck for an emergency fund."
Each of four equal parts into which something can be divided; a fourth part.
"She ate exactly one quarter of the apple before handing it to her brother."
In plain English: A quarter is one of four equal parts that make up a whole, often used to describe a 25-cent coin or a three-month period in time.
"She paid for her ice cream cone with a silver quarter."
Usage: Use quarter to refer to one of four equal shares, such as when dividing an hour or a dollar coin. It is often confused with "third" in casual speech about time fractions, but strictly denotes exactly 25% rather than approximately 33%.
pull (a person) apart with four horses tied to his extremities, so as to execute him
"in the old days, people were drawn and quartered for certain crimes"
divide by four; divide into quarters
"If you split the pizza among four friends, each person gets a quarter of the pie."
To divide into quarters; to divide by four.
"The old postmaster would quarter his heavy wagon across the muddy road each morning to keep the deep ruts aligned for the following carts."
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.
In plain English: To quarter something means to cut it into four equal pieces.
"She will quarter the chicken before cooking it."
Pertaining to an aspect of a quarter.
"The new zoning laws will impact every quarter of the city, from the financial district down to the residential suburbs."
In plain English: Quarter means something that is made up of four equal parts, where each part represents one of those four pieces.
"The quarter-inch gap between the tiles needed to be filled with caulk."
A village in South Lanarkshire council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NS7251).
"The local history society organized a field trip to Quarter to explore its unique heritage as a small community in South Lanarkshire."
The word quarter comes from the Latin quartus, meaning "fourth," which entered English via Anglo-Norman and Middle English. It originally referred to a division into four parts before taking on its modern meanings related to time, currency, and housing.