quarter-hour
Americannoun
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a period of 15 minutes.
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a point 15 minutes after or before the hour.
noun
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a period of 15 minutes
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any of the points on the face of a timepiece that mark 15 minutes before or after the hour, and sometimes 30 minutes after
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of quarter-hour
First recorded in 1880–85
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.
Just before the quarter-hour mark, Schick had a golden chance to open the scoring with the goalkeeper beaten but blasted his effort directly at defender Karol Mets.
From Barron's ● Feb. 3, 2026
Before the quarter-hour mark, that plan was out the window with Arsenal three goals to the good and Wilder already making changes to his team's shape and personnel.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2024
Midway through the corridor, the procession is interrupted by a set of screens that every quarter-hour plays a 3-minute video work showing the movements of dancers wearing the tiled Soundsuits on adjacent walls.
From New York Times ● May 16, 2022
“Once we realized a quarter-hour was the right fit, the writing became so much easier,” she said.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 19, 2022
Within the next quarter-hour, twenty of the men had ushered in six hundred seat-holders.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
