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PlainSpell

quarter

/ˈk(w)ɔɹ.tɚ/noun, adjective, verb

quarter is spelled Q-U-A-R-T-E-R: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 52 times per million words in written English, the 1,941st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, quarter means “Each of four equal parts into which something can be divided; a fourth part” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of quarter is quarters.

How many letters and syllables are in quarter?

Letters7: Q-U-A-R-T-E-R
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing52 times per million words; the 1,941st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is quarter?

Quarter appears 52 times per million words in written English, the 1,941st most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce quarter?

  • UK /ˈk(w)ɔːtə/
  • British /ˈk(w)oːtə/
  • US /ˈk(w)ɔɹ.tɚ/

Quarter has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-I_learned_some_phrases-quarter.wav, En-us-quarter.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with quarter?

3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as quarter from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɹtəɹ/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of quarter

  • quarters plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • quartering participle, present
  • quartered participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does quarter mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    Each of four equal parts into which something can be divided; a fourth part.

    I ate a quarter of the pizza.

  2. 2

    A measure of capacity used chiefly for grain or coal, varying greatly in quantity by time and location.

  3. 3

    A fourth part of a pound; approximately 113 grams.

  4. 4

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

  5. 5

    A fourth part of the night; one of the watches or divisions of the night.

  6. 6

    A fourth part of the year; 3 months; a term or season.

  7. 7

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

  8. 8

    A fourth part of a hundredweight.

adjective

  1. 1

    Pertaining to an aspect of a quarter.

  2. 2

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

    a quarter hour; a quarter century; a quarter note; a quarter pound

  3. 3

    Related to a three-month term, a quarter of a year.

    A quarter day is one terminating a quarter of the year.

verb

  1. 1

    To divide into quarters; to divide by four.

  2. 2

    To provide housing for (usually military personnel or equipment).

    Quarter the horses in the third stable.

  3. 3

    To lodge; to have a temporary residence.

  4. 4

    To quartersaw.

  5. 5

    To execute (someone) by tying each limb to a different animal (such as a horse) and driving them in different directions.

  6. 6

    To display different coats of arms in the quarters of a shield.

  7. 7

    To range to and fro over an area; to move from point to point.

  8. 8

    obsoleteTo drive a carriage so as to prevent the wheels from going into the ruts, or so that a rut shall be between the wheels.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate quarter?

Wiktionary records 3 abbreviations of quarter: Q, qr, qtr.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Quarter in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchquart, quartier (one of four equal parts – see also one-fourth), trimestre (period of three months)
GermanViertel (one of four equal parts – see also one-fourth), Quartal, Vierteljahr (period of three months), Vierteldollar (coin worth 25 cents), Stadtteil (section of a town), vierteln (to divide into quarters; to divide by four)
Portuguesequarto, quarta parte (one of four equal parts – see also one-fourth), trimestre (period of three months), moeda de vinte e cinco centavos (coin worth 25 cents), quarteirão (section of a town)
Spanishcuarto, cuartel (one of four equal parts – see also one-fourth), trimestre (period of three months), cora (coin worth 25 cents), cuartear (to divide into quarters; to divide by four)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does quarter come from?

From Middle English quarter, from Anglo-Norman quarter, from Latin quartarius, from quartus. Compare Spanish cuarto (“room, quarters; quarter”). Doublet of quartier.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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