quote

[ kwoht ]

verb (used with object)

, quot·ed, quot·ing.

1. to repeat (a passage, phrase, etc.) from a book, speech, or the like, as by way of authority, illustration, etc.
2. to repeat words from (a book, author, etc.).
3. to use a brief excerpt from:

   The composer quotes Beethoven's Fifth in his latest work.

4. to cite, offer, or bring forward as evidence or support.
5. to enclose (words) within quotation marks.
6. Commerce.
   1. to state (a price).
   2. to state the current price of.

verb (used without object)

, quot·ed, quot·ing.

1. to make a quotation or quotations, as from a book or author.
2. (used by a speaker to indicate the beginning of a quotation. )

noun

1. a quotation.
2. quotation mark.

quote

/ kwəʊt /

verb

1. to recite a quotation (from a book, play, poem, etc), esp as a means of illustrating or supporting a statement
2. tr to put quotation marks round (a word, phrase, etc)
3. stock exchange to state (a current market price) of (a security or commodity)

noun

1. See quotation
   an informal word for quotation quotation quotation quotation
2. See quotation mark
   often plural an informal word for quotation mark

   put it in quotes

interjection

1. an expression used parenthetically to indicate that the words that follow it form a quotation

   the president said, quote, I shall not run for office in November, unquote

Other Words From

• quoter noun
• outquote verb (used with object) outquoted outquoting
• pre·quote verb (used with object) prequoted prequoting
• re·quote verb (used with object) requoted requoting
• super·quote verb superquoted superquoting noun
• un·quoted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of quote¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; 1880–85 quote fordef 9; Middle English coten, quoten, from Old French coter, from Medieval Latin quotāre “to divide into chapters and verses,” derivative of Latin quot “how many”

Word History and Origins

Origin of quote¹

C14: from Medieval Latin quotāre to assign reference numbers to passages, from Latin quot how many

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. quote unquote, so called; so to speak; as it were:

   If you're a liberal, quote unquote, they're suspicious of you.

Example Sentences

Tend to your own garden, to quote the great sage of free speech, Voltaire, and invite people to follow your example.

From The Daily Beast

That quote has been misattributed to him since it first appeared in 1881, when Ben would have been 175 years old.

From The Daily Beast

The quote appears on the bronze plaque the players touch before they take the field for home games.

From The Daily Beast

The quote is apocryphal, but that has not changed its significance for Army football players.

From The Daily Beast

“Telling employees to stick to authorized legal boundaries is a good thing,” he said Wednesday when asked about the quote.

From The Daily Beast

The lack of bill buyers in foreign countries who will quote as low rates on dollar as on sterling bills.

From Project Gutenberg

I shall therefore, in my effort to prove the Bible fallible, quote almost wholly from Christian critics.

From Project Gutenberg

To quote Mrs. Kaye, 'A Liberal peer is as useful as a fifth wheel to a coach, and as ornamental as whitewash.'

From Project Gutenberg

Wolff has illustrated this point by a series of experiments on the sunflower, of which we shall quote one.

From Project Gutenberg

However and whatever (to quote Amy again), the intentions were that brought the crowd, the Norwood place was comfortably filled.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cite
• name
• recall
• refer to