quarters
quarters Lexical Profile
quarters Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Rooms or lodgings provided for people, such as staff, students, or military personnel, to live and sleep in.
"The visiting researchers were assigned comfortable living quarters near the university campus."
The plural of quarter; four equal parts into which something is divided, twenty-five-cent coins, or unspecified sources and groups of people.
"The proposal received strong support from several unexpected quarters within the industry."
Assigned stations or posts taken up by crew members on a naval vessel for routine muster, emergencies, or action.
"The captain ordered all hands to their stations for general quarters during the training exercise."
North American A tabletop game in which players attempt to bounce a twenty-five-cent coin off a hard surface into a cup or glass.
"The college students spent the Friday evening playing quarters around the kitchen table."
• verb
To divide something into four equal or corresponding parts (third-person singular present simple of quarter).
"The chef quarters the apples and removes the cores before baking the tart."
To provide lodging or accommodations for someone, especially military personnel (third-person singular present simple of quarter).
"The historic fort quarters visiting cadets during the summer training program."
Word Nuance & Usage
When referring to housing, rooms, or assigned naval stations, 'quarters' is a plural-form noun that always takes a plural verb (e.g., 'Their living quarters are spacious').
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from the Anglo-French 'quarter' and Old French 'quartier', from the Latin 'quartarius' (a fourth part), based on 'quartus' (fourth). The sense of 'living accommodations' evolved in the late 16th century from the military practice of assigning troops to specific districts or fourths of a camp or town.