quartet
Americannoun
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any group of four persons or things.
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an organized group of four singers or players.
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a musical composition for four voices or instruments.
noun
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a group of four singers or instrumentalists or a piece of music composed for such a group See string quartet
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any group of four
a quartet of fast bowlers
Etymology
Origin of quartet
1765–75; < Italian quartetto, diminutive of quarto < Latin quartus fourth
Explanation
A quartet is a musical group with four members. If you play the viola, you might form a string quartet with two violinists and a cellist. You can use the noun quartet to describe your four-person singing group, and you can also use it to talk about the piece of music you're performing, if it's written specifically for four voices or instruments. The word quartet comes from the Italian quarto, or "fourth," which in turn has it roots in the Latin quartus, also meaning "fourth."
Vocabulary lists containing quartet
Music - Introductory
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Scrabble: Words that Begin with Q
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Music - Middle School
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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.
Four soul sides for Capitol failed to chart, so the label dropped the quartet.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026
The 36-year-old incumbent is seeking a second four-year term, facing a quartet of opponents who say the district has suffered under her watch.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
It helps that valuations for several of the stocks in this quartet now seem reasonable.
From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026
I mean, you’ll think of someone like S. E. Hinton who wrote this extraordinary quartet of books, but then really stopped writing.
From Slate • Apr. 18, 2026
“I can’t. I’m playing in a string quartet at some professor’s house. What about next weekend?”
From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman
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.
