quarters
Britishplural noun
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housing or accommodation, esp as provided for military personnel and their families
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the stations assigned to military personnel, esp to each crew member of a warship
general quarters
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(in India) housing provided by an employer or by the government
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slang (functioning as singular) military short for quartermaster
Explanation
A place for people to live, especially if they're in the military, can be called quarters. If you join the Army, your quarters might be a dorm-like space that you share with many other people. You can use this word to mean "housing" generally, although it's most common for soldiers and servants to live in quarters. A wealthy family with maids and a butler who live in their house might set aside servants' quarters on the top floor, for example. During the period of slavery in the US, slaves also lived in quarters. If you and your brother live in "close quarters," it means the two of you share a fairly small room.
Vocabulary lists containing quarters
I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912
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The Lion of Mars
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Three Keys
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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.
That means the Treasury can’t keep guiding for no change in issuance for ‘next several quarters’ as that implies stability for at least two to four quarters ahead.
From Barron's • May 4, 2026
Atlanta, central New Jersey and San Diego were among the markets where occupancy rose, reversing previous quarters’ losses.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 6, 2025
Thomas Hayes, chairman of hedge fund Great Hill Capital said, "With China sales blowing past expectations ... this beat is auspicious for future quarters' results."
From Reuters • Jun. 30, 2023
Investors will also look to next quarters’ corporate earnings to gauge how executives are interpreting a potential economic downtown.
From Washington Post • Jun. 17, 2022
At one corps a gang of factory lads endeavoured to annoy the officers by hammering at the quarters’ door and running away.
From The Angel Adjutant of "Twice Born Men" by Carpenter, Minnie Lindsay Rowell
Definitions 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.
