quarter-hour

[ kwawr-ter-ouuhr, -ou-er ]

/ ˈkwɔr tərˈaʊər, -ˈaʊ ər /

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noun

a period of 15 minutes.

a point 15 minutes after or before the hour.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of quarter-hour

First recorded in 1880–85

Words nearby quarter-hour

quarterfinalist, quarter grain, quarter hollow, quarter-hoop, quarter horse, quarter-hour, quartering, quarterlife crisis, quarterlight, quarterly, quartermaster

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use quarter-hour in a sentence

Here were two new griefs hurling themselves in over the wires all in the same quarter-hour, besides the one I had up my sleeve.
The Wreckers|Francis Lynde
Something tender came into their tones as quarter-hour after quarter-hour went on, and they forgot the lapse of time.
The Well-Beloved|Thomas Hardy
But first she had to undergo a bad quarter-hour in the back-parlour.
Joan Thursday|Louis Joseph Vance
A quarter-hour later the doctor had him safely tucked into his berth in the cabin, with whisky and lemon aboard him.
Cursed|George Allan England

We have had a quarter-hour's ride when the gondola comes to rest before broad stone steps leading upward to a wide doorway.
Seeing Europe with Famous Authors, Volume 7|Various

British Dictionary definitions for quarter-hour

quarter-hour

noun

a period of 15 minutes

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

Derived forms of quarter-hour

quarter-hourly, adverb, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012