quarry

/ˈkwɒɹ.i/

//ˈkwɒɹ.i// noun

"quarry" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“quarry” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,047. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,047
frequency rank, English
288
“Q” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A site for mining stone, such as limestone, or slate.

Corpus desk

Index EN-quarry · quarry · English

quarry · rank #13,047 · 7 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,047
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 288
  • PHOTO-FINISH prosperous

Nearest frequency peer: prosperous (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “quarry”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “quarry” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

quarry vs quay
67% similar
quarry vs query
67% similar
quarry vs quart
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for quarry
PropertyValue
Headwordquarry
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkwɒɹ.i/
Letters6
Frequency rank#13,047
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “quarry”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).quarrylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “prosperous” (#13,046), “referral” (#13,048), “proportional” (#13,045). Among 288 “Q” headwords, “quarry” is #13,047. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around quarry (IPA /ˈkwɒɹ.i/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #13,047 among 288 “Q” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A site for mining stone, such as limestone, or slate.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for quarry, with forms such as "qaurry", "qquarry", and "quarryy". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "quay", "query", "quart", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English quarere, from Medieval Latin quarreria (1266), literally a “place where stones are squared”, from Old French quarrière (compare modern French carrière), from Vulgar Latin *quadraria, from Latin quadrō (“I square”), itself from quadra (“a… The correct English form is quarry, spelled Q-U-A-R-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A site for mining stone, such as limestone, or slate.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how quarry appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Michelangelo personally quarried marble from the world-famous quarry at Carrara.
  2. Yet theſe are the men cry'd out againſt for ſchiſmaticks and ſectaries; as if, while the Temple of the Lord was building, ſome cutting, ſome ſquaring the marble, others hewing the cedars, there ſhould be a ſort of irrationall men who could not conſider there muſt be many ſchiſms and many diſſections made in the quarry and the timber, ere the houſe of God…

Etymology

From Middle English quarere, from Medieval Latin quarreria (1266), literally a “place where stones are squared”, from Old French quarrière (compare modern French carrière), from Vulgar Latin *quadraria, from Latin quadrō (“I square”), itself from quadra (“a square”), from quattuor (“four”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwóres (“four”).

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • qaurry
  • qquarry
  • quarryy
  • quary
  • quaryr
  • qurary
  • uqarry

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of quarry - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

qaurry2qquarry1quarryy1quary1quaryr2qurary2uqarry2
Edit distance from "quarry"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "quarry"?
"quarry" is spelled Q-U-A-R-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkwɒɹ.i/.
What does "quarry" mean?
As a noun, "quarry" means: A site for mining stone, such as limestone, or slate.
What words are commonly confused with "quarry"?
"quarry" is commonly confused with "quay", "query", "quart". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "quarry"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "quarry" is /ˈkwɒɹ.i/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "quarry"?
From Middle English quarere, from Medieval Latin quarreria (1266), literally a “place where stones are squared”, from Old French quarrière (compare modern French carrière), from Vulgar Latin *quadraria, from Latin quadrō (“I square”), itself from ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "quarry", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list