quartile

/ˈkwɔː(ɹ)taɪl/

//ˈkwɔː(ɹ)taɪl// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"quartile" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“quartile” is uncommon English (frequency #61,742 among 288 “Q” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#61,742
frequency rank, English
288
“Q” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of the three points that divide an ordered distribution into four parts, each containing a quarter of the population.

Corpus desk

Index EN-quartile · quartile · English

quartile · rank #61,742 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #61,742
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 288
  • PHOTO-FINISH quadrilateral

Nearest frequency peer: quadrilateral (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “quartile”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “quartile” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for quartile
PropertyValue
Headwordquartile
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkwɔː(ɹ)taɪl/
Letters8
Frequency rank#61,742
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “quartile” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).quartilefalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “quadrilateral” (#61,741), “quadriceps” (#61,740), “pyrotechnic” (#61,738). Among 288 “Q” headwords, “quartile” is #61,742. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

quartile is uncommon English at frequency #61,742 among 288 “Q” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkwɔː(ɹ)taɪl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for quartile in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French quartil, from Medieval Latin quartilus. By surface analysis, quart + -ile. The correct English form is quartile, spelled Q-U-A-R-T-I-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of the three points that divide an ordered distribution into four parts, each containing a quarter of the population.
  2. 2
    Any one of the four groups so divided.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. This school is ranked in the first quartile.
  2. The Department for Transport's National Travel Survey shows that workers in the lowest income quartile are twice as likely to use public transport.

Etymology

From Middle French quartil, from Medieval Latin quartilus. By surface analysis, quart + -ile.

This word in other languages

cuartil(Español)quartile(Français)

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 "quartile"?
"quartile" is spelled Q-U-A-R-T-I-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkwɔː(ɹ)taɪl/.
What does "quartile" mean?
As a noun, "quartile" means: Any of the three points that divide an ordered distribution into four parts, each containing a quarter of the population.
How do you pronounce "quartile"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "quartile" is /ˈkwɔː(ɹ)taɪl/. 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 "quartile"?
From Middle French quartil, from Medieval Latin quartilus. By surface analysis, quart + -ile. 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 "quartile", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Puyallup#61,737rapidity#61,748Ravindra#61,749pranking#61,719

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list