quart

¹ American  

[kwawrt] / kwɔrt /

noun

1. a unit of liquid measure of capacity, equal to one fourth of a gallon, or 57.749 cubic inches (0.946 liter) in the U.S. and 69.355 cubic inches (1.136 liters) in Great Britain.

2. a unit of dry measure of capacity, equal to one eighth of a peck, or 67.201 cubic inches (1.101 liters).

3. a container holding, or capable of holding, a quart.

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quart ² American  

[kahrt] / kɑrt /

noun

1. Piquet. a sequence of four cards of the same suit, as an ace, king, queen, and jack quart major, or king, queen, jack, and ten quart minor.

2. Fencing Rare. quarte.

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quart. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. quarter.

2. quarterly.

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quart ¹ British  

/ kwɔːt /

noun

1. a unit of liquid measure equal to a quarter of a gallon or two pints. 1 US quart (0.946 litre) is equal to 0.8326 UK quart. 1 UK quart (1.136 litres) is equal to 1.2009 US quarts

2. a unit of dry measure equal to 2 pints or one eighth of a peck

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quart ² British  

noun

1. piquet a sequence of four cards in the same suit

2. fencing a variant spelling of quarte

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quart Scientific  

/ kwôrt /

1. A unit of volume or capacity in the US Customary System, used in liquid measure and equal to 1/4 of a gallon or 32 ounces (0.95 liter).

2. See Table at measurement

3. A unit of volume or capacity in the US Customary System, used in dry measure and equal to 1/8 of a peck or 2 pints (1.10 liter).

4. See Table at measurement

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Etymology

Origin of quart¹

1275–1325; Middle English < Old French quarte fourth part, quarter < Latin quarta, noun use of feminine of quartus fourth (in order)

Origin of quart²

1685–95; < French quarte, noun use of feminine of quart < Latin quartus; quart ¹

Explanation

A quart is a unit used to measure something liquid, like milk or paint. There are four quarts in a gallon. A quart of paint may be all you need to spruce up your front door, and your cake recipe might call for a quart of buttermilk. In both cases, you're using the equivalent of four liquid cups or one-fourth of a gallon. The word dates from the 14th century, from a Latin root, quartus, which means "the fourth part."

Example Sentences

Since my days in the Finnbar kitchen, there is constantly a quart of mushroom sugo in my refrigerator at home, to be used in any number of applications.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 26, 2025

When the plants are 4 to 5 inches tall, he separates them into groups of three in quart size containers.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 14, 2024

Per serving: Drop three ounces of pasta into a quart of vigorously boiling water with a pinch of salt.

From National Geographic • Aug. 8, 2023

This, according to Dr. Chadi Nabhan, is the story of glyphosate, an herbicide often marketed under the name Roundup and sold by the quart in hardware and lawn stores across the United States.

From Salon • Feb. 26, 2023

Third day, though, he puts out a quart jar of water for me when I go to pick his beans.

From "Shiloh" by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor