quartering

American  

[kwawr-ter-ing] / ˈkwɔr tər ɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of a person or thing that quarters.

2. the assignment of quarters or lodgings.

3. Heraldry.

   1. the division of an escutcheon into quarters.

   2. the marshaling of various coats of arms on an escutcheon.

   3. any of the coats of arms so marshaled.

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adjective

1. that quarters.

2. lying at right angles.

3. Nautical. (of a wind) blowing on a ship's quarter.

quartering British  

/ ˈkwɔːtərɪŋ /

noun

1. military the allocation of accommodation to service personnel

2. heraldry

   1. the marshalling of several coats of arms on one shield, usually representing intermarriages

   2. any coat of arms marshalled in this way

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Etymology

Origin of quartering

First recorded in 1585–95; quarter + -ing ¹, -ing ²

Example Sentences

Shortly afterward, Diane Hartley, a student at Princeton writing a thesis on the project, draws attention to the effect of quartering winds—winds hitting the building’s facades at an angle.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025

For the founding generation, their defining experience of the dangers of domestic deployment of the military was the Boston Massacre and the quartering of British troops in private homes.

From Salon • Jul. 11, 2025

Interestingly, in the case of quartering waves, there was a negligible effect of propulsion power on the deviations.

From Science Daily • Jan. 3, 2024

And I like quartering and searing them, which yields a similar size and crust as the beef.

From Slate • Feb. 14, 2019

She picked a few stray peelings off of her apron and began quartering the potatoes.

From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez