noun / verb
quarter
KWOR-ter/ˈkwɔːrtər/
One of four equal portions.
One quarter of the flatbread sits apart from the other three.
Etymology
The ancestor already meant “fourth part,” so this sense preserves its central idea. Early English uses often concerned the four portions into which a slaughtered animal was cut.
In context
young people aged 15 to 24 represent only a quarter of the sexually active population yet they carry almost half of all STI is out there
More examples
- I quarter the potatoes before adding them to the pot.
- The walk takes a quarter of an hour.
- Four quarters add up to one dollar.
Forms
quarter · quarters · quartered · quartering
Similar words
- fourth
- Names the same fraction, but does not name a coin.