quarterly
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
-
occurring, done, paid, etc, at intervals of three months
-
of, relating to, or consisting of a quarter
noun
adverb
-
once every three months
-
heraldry into or in quarters
a shield divided quarterly
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of quarterly
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at quarter, -ly
Explanation
Something that happens quarterly occurs four times per year, like your family's quarterly visit to your grandparents' house in Florida. Magazines that are published every three months come out quarterly — in fact, they're commonly referred to as quarterlies. For businesses, many things happen on a quarterly schedule, from the quarterly taxes they pay to quarterly reports sent to shareholders. Think of a year as consisting of four quarters; anything occurring once per quarter happens quarterly. The Latin root, quartus, means "the fourth."
Vocabulary lists containing quarterly
quar-, quad-
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quad, quar (four)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These were set to decrease to quarterly tests from March 2026, "but I wasn't too happy about that", she said.
From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026
To make sense of this, I turned to Minxin Pei, editor of the China Leadership Monitor quarterly and the author of “The Broken China Dream.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
It’s like a hot stock only meeting Wall Street quarterly earnings estimates.
From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026
NebraskaLand, which didn’t do business with McClain, audits farm customers monthly or quarterly, Lucas said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026
“Savannah and I will set up quarterly tax payments and establish a trust to protect your savings and start your college account. And, of course, a retirement plan.”
From "Lawn Boy Returns" by Gary Paulsen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
