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.
While that’s a slimmer beat than the quarterly revenue result, keep in mind the company’s sales have averaged 5% above projections in the last 10 quarters, according to FactSet.
From Barron's • Jun. 3, 2026
Likewise, despite concerns voiced in some quarters, existing fuel infrastructure can be used for E15, just as it can for the E10 fuel Americans usually buy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026
Marvell has already been discussed External link by analysts as a potential candidate for S&P 500 inclusion in recent quarters.
From Barron's • Jun. 3, 2026
Too many people face a "cliff-edge drop in income" when they retire, with more than three quarters not on course to save enough for a "moderate" lifestyle, a pensions trade body has warned.
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026
Huge pipes carried steam created in enormous belowdecks boilers, which supplied heat to the officers’ cabins and the crew’s living quarters.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
