quarter-hour

American  

[kwawr-ter-ouuhr, -ou-er] / ˈkwɔr tərˈaʊər, -ˈaʊ ər /

noun

1. a period of 15 minutes.

2. a point 15 minutes after or before the hour.

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quarter-hour British  

noun

1. a period of 15 minutes

2. any of the points on the face of a timepiece that mark 15 minutes before or after the hour, and sometimes 30 minutes after

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Other Word Forms

• quarter-hourly adverb

Etymology

Origin of quarter-hour

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

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

He understands the challenge of keeping viewers hooked from one topic to the next, telling reporters last week that he studies the quarter-hour Nielsen ratings of “First Take” to see what segments work.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 6, 2024

Nielsen measures viewership in 15-minute increments, and the 17.3 million viewers during the quarter-hour when Smith’s attack took place was virtually identical to the quarter-hour that followed.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 29, 2022

Wiping up their splatter was the work of 20 seconds with a vinegar-soaked cloth, rather than the quarter-hour it would take to pull off the greasy hobs and scrub them in the sink.

From New York Times • Mar. 11, 2022

A quarter-hour passed as I watched it complete its circuit of the fire.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss