quartermaster
Americannoun
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Military. an officer charged with providing quarters, clothing, fuel, transportation, etc., for a body of troops.
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Navy. a petty officer having charge of signals, navigating apparatus, etc.
noun
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an officer responsible for accommodation, food, and equipment in a military unit
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a rating in the navy, usually a petty officer, with particular responsibility for steering a ship and other navigational duties
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of quartermaster
First recorded in 1400–50, quartermaster is from late Middle English quarter maister. See quarter, master
Explanation
A quartermaster is a soldier whose job is to hand out supplies — like food and clothes — to army troops. Sometimes the quartermaster is an individual, and other times it's a whole military unit. The quartermaster has an important job. While historically an army's quartermaster distributed uniforms and other clothing, today this officer might also procure food and other supplies. In the US Navy, a quartermaster obtains and takes care of nautical charts, and in the Boy Scouts, the quartermaster maintains camping supplies. The word has been in use since the fifteenth century, from the French quartier-maître, and it originally meant an officer on a ship who stowed goods in the ship's hold.
Vocabulary lists containing quartermaster
All Quiet on the Western Front
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Anna Karenina
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quad, quar (four)
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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.
He accepted the thankless job of quartermaster general at Valley Forge in 1778 before he returned to field command of the Continental Army’s Southern Department in late 1780.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Munir became army chief in November 2022 after serving in senior positions including as quartermaster general and Corps Commander Gujranwala.
From Barron's ● Nov. 14, 2025
Conter, a quartermaster, was lauded for helping rescue fellow crew members during the attack, according to the Pacific Historic Parks post.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
The auctioneers said this hat comes with impeccable provenance, remaining throughout the 19th Century in the same family of the quartermaster of Napoleon's palace.
From BBC ● Nov. 18, 2023
Toward lunchtime, Werfel finished his work, and the quartermaster gave him two sticky slices of venison-pickle jelly, one splopped in each hand.
From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
