quarry
1 Americannoun
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quarries
plural
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an excavation or pit, usually open to the air, from which building stone, slate, or the like, is obtained by cutting, blasting, etc.
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an abundant source or supply.
verb (used with object)
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quarries,
present (3rd person singular)
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quarried,
past participle, past
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quarrying
present participle
-
to obtain (stone) from or as if from a quarry.
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to make a quarry in.
noun
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quarries
plural
-
an animal or bird hunted or pursued.
-
game, especially game hunted with hounds or hawks.
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any object of search, pursuit, or attack.
noun
-
an open surface excavation for the extraction of building stone, slate, marble, etc, by drilling, blasting, or cutting
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a copious source of something, esp information
verb
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to extract (stone, slate, etc) from or as if from a quarry
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(tr) to excavate a quarry in
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to obtain (something, esp information) diligently and laboriously
he was quarrying away in the reference library
noun
-
a square or diamond shape
-
something having this shape
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another word for quarrel 2
noun
-
an animal, bird, or fish that is hunted, esp by other animals; prey
-
anything pursued or hunted
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
quarrysimple
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quarriessimple
-
have quarriedperfect
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has quarriedperfect
-
am quarryingprogressive
-
are quarryingprogressive
-
is quarryingprogressive
-
have been quarryingperfect progressive
-
has been quarryingperfect progressive
Past
-
quarriedsimple
-
had quarriedperfect
-
was quarryingprogressive
-
were quarryingprogressive
-
had been quarryingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of quarry1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English noun quarrei, quarey, quar(r)i, from Medieval Latin quareia, quarrea, quareria, from Old French quarriere, from unrecorded Vulgar Latin quadrāria “place where stone is squared,” derivative of Latin quadrāre “to square”
Origin of quarry2
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English quirre, querre, quirrei “parts of a deer given to the hounds,” from Old French cuiree, cuiriee, curee “viscera, entrails” (probably influenced by cuir “leather, hide, skin”), from Latin corium “skin, hide, leather”), from Late Latin corāta (plural) “entrails,” from cor “heart”
Origin of quarry3
First recorded in 1535–45; noun use of obsolete adjective quarry “square,” from Old French quarre, from Latin quadrātus quadrate
Explanation
Both meanings of quarry have to do with going after something. An animal being hunted is called quarry, and when you dig a hole in the earth looking for rocks, both the digging and the hole are called quarry as well. Gross fact: Quarry derives from the Latin cor "heart," because hunters used to drape the entrails of their chosen quarry on their dogs' backs. The origin in a word for "heart" can help you remember both quarries: a rock quarry is searching down toward the heart of the earth; a stag's heart is considered a hunter's greatest prize.
Vocabulary lists containing quarry
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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.
See Examples For:
STEUBEN, Maine—After a brisk 20-minute voyage through the wind-whipped, aquamarine chop of Pigeon Hill Bay, our quarry was in sight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
“Rhoda the unflappable,” as Leonie thinks of her, makes short work of locating her quarry in a run-down villa on the small Maltese island of Gozo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
It comes after a blast at another quarry six miles away forced people to flee their homes as a torrent of water flooded them.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Mandy Symonds, whose home has been in her family since her grandparents, believes the quarry should be shut down.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
“The quarry are all inside,” said the half-familiar voice.
From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
The Welsh government said it had received the letter but as the responsibility for the regulation of active mines and quarries lies with the UK government, it couldn't comment.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Number two was Vulcan Materials, which operates rock quarries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
Not surprisingly, a perfect Sunday for Wareheim involves shopping for plants and perusing rock yards and quarries, though he won’t divulge exactly where.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 28, 2025
Ms Armerio points to being able to drive to Tuscany's stone quarries from her company's base on the coast of Liguria if she needs to order marble.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2025
Several of the homes on the way to the quarries were built from huge blocks of granite, containing quartz, feldspar, and mica, all visible to the naked eye, as Fred once showed me.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
Local artists, with easy access to Carrara marble quarried just down the coast, created thousands of sculpted scenes that by turns commemorate, re-create or just refer to the dead in towering dioramas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Most of the Aravallis lie in Rajasthan, and a quarter of the state's hills have been quarried, a 2018 Supreme Court-constituted committee found.
From Barron's ● May 31, 2026
It has close connections with the slate trade which once dominated north west Wales' economy, with its harbour once used for the transport of slate quarried nearby.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026
Twelve massive chunks of white stone were quarried there, transported in their raw state across the border and piled in six pairs adjacent to a Desert Hot Springs wind farm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2025
Once, it was said, they had quarried immense blocks of ice from frozen lakes deep in the haunted forest, dragging them south on sledges so the Wall might be raised ever higher.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Since being granted permission to expand its operations and continue quarrying at at Craig yr Hesg until 2047, residents say they have been left feeling angry and frustrated.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
“It builds on our core quarrying competency, expands our geographic footprint and immediately establishes Martin Marietta as the leading national producer of lime solutions,” he said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
“We anticipate this trend will continue, with a particular focus on areas such as mining, quarrying, construction and defense.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
Jobs connected to mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction also saw strong wage growth, according to the analysis.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 10, 2026
All the other visible hills, including those facing me across the narrow valley, looked to be in good health, except where they had been scarred and gouged by quarrying or strip mining, which was regularly.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
