quartervsquartersWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“quarter” and “quarters” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,963
“quarter” frequency rank
#4,881
“quarters” frequency rank
6844
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quarter quarters
Definition A fourth part of something. plural of quarter.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set quarter and quarters apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
quarter
8 ch
quarters

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. quarter (/ˈk(w)ɔː.tə/) and quarters (/ˈkwɔɹtɚz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “quarter” sits inside “quarters”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6844, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quarter is recorded at frequency rank #1,963, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈk(w)ɔː.tə/. quarters is at rank #4,881, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkwɔɹtɚz/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 6844, this pair ranks #509,728 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of quarter vs quarters

Shared letters: aeqrtu. Private to "quarter": -. Private to "quarters": s.

"quarter" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC  ·  "quarters" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quarterqaurter · qquarter · quaretr · quarrter · quarterr · quartre · quartter · quatrer
  • quartersqaurters · qquarters · quaretrs · quarrters · quarterrs · quarterss · quartesr · quartres

Frequency comparison

quarter#1,963
quarters#4,881

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quarter" and "quarters" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈk(w)ɔː.tə/ versus /ˈkwɔɹtɚz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "quarter" or "quarters"?
"quarter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,963 in our English list, against #4,881 for "quarters". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering quarter vs quarters

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “quarter” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list