quarterly

American  

[kwawr-ter-lee] / ˈkwɔr tər li /

adjective

1. occurring, done, paid, issued, etc., at the end of every quarter of a year.

   a quarterly report; quarterly interest.

2. pertaining to or consisting of a quarter.

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noun

quarterlies plural

1. a periodical issued every three months.

adverb

1. by quarters; once each quarter of a year.

   The bank pays interest quarterly.

2. Heraldry.

   1. with division into four quarters.

   2. in the four quarters of an escutcheon.

quarterly British  

/ ˈkwɔːtəlɪ /

adjective

1. occurring, done, paid, etc, at intervals of three months

2. of, relating to, or consisting of a quarter

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noun

1. a periodical issued every three months

adverb

1. once every three months

2. heraldry into or in quarters

   a shield divided quarterly

Etymology

Origin of quarterly

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at quarter, -ly

Explanation

Something that happens quarterly occurs four times per year, like your family's quarterly visit to your grandparents' house in Florida. Magazines that are published every three months come out quarterly — in fact, they're commonly referred to as quarterlies. For businesses, many things happen on a quarterly schedule, from the quarterly taxes they pay to quarterly reports sent to shareholders. Think of a year as consisting of four quarters; anything occurring once per quarter happens quarterly. The Latin root, quartus, means "the fourth."

Example Sentences

Patient investors get the benefit of seeing more quarterly results and gauging SpaceX’s progress toward justifying its valuation.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

Shares climbed 72% this year as of Thursday’s close thanks to solid quarterly earnings and an extended rally across chip stocks.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

IBM’s latest quarterly filing shows no revenue from its quantum business.

From MarketWatch • May 22, 2026

Anthropic, according to the Wall Street Journal, is on track to report its first quarterly operating profit against revenue of $10.9 billion in the second quarter.

From MarketWatch • May 21, 2026

If you just read the quarterly public water reports, as she had, the numbers were right there.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Related Words

• periodically