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queen
quarry³ n [S] the person or animal that one is hunting or chasing: The policeman followed his quarry into the park to arrest him.
'quarry, tile n a clay TILE that has not been GLAZED. Quarry tiles are used to cover floors.
quart /kwɔːt||kwɔːrt/ n 1 a unit of liquid and dry measure: a quart of milk → see TABLE 2 2 put a quart into a pint pot BrE infml [usually in negatives] to do something impossible
quar·ter¹ /'kwɔːtə||'kwɔːr-/ n 1 [C] a fourth part of a whole; ¼: a quarter of a mile | a mile and a quarter | A quarter (=¼ of a POUND) of sweets, please. | a quarter of a million (=250,000) | The currency has been reduced to a quarter of its former value. 2 [C] 15 minutes before or after the hour: It's a quarter past ten/(AmE) after ten. (=10.15) | a quarter to ten/(AmE) of ten (=9.45) | in three quarters of an hour (=45 minutes) | This clock strikes the quarters. 3 [C] a period of three months, used especially for making payments: I pay my rent by the quarter. | The company's profits rose by 11 per cent in the first quarter. → see also QUARTERLY 4 [C] (in the US and Canada) a coin worth 25 cents (=¼ of a dollar) 5 [C] AmE a period of 10 to 12 weeks into which the teaching year is divided in some American colleges and universities: What classes are you taking fall quarter? 6 [C] any of the four equal periods of time into which some sports matches are divided: At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers lead 26-22. 7 [C often pl.] a place or person from which something comes or may be expected: Help is arriving from all quarters. | The best advice came from a most unexpected quarter. | This decision is seen in some quarters (=by some people) as a change of policy. 8 [C] a part of a town lived in or worked in by the stated people: the student quarter | the Arab quarter 9 [C] a unit of weight → see TABLE 2 10 [U usually in negatives] fml the giving of life to a defeated enemy; MERCY: They are ferocious fighters, who neither give nor expect any quarter. 11 [C] (often in comb.) a piece of meat from a large animal, including a leg: a quarter of beef 12 [C] the period twice a month when the moon shows a quarter of its surface: In the first week the moon is in its first quarter, in the third it is in its last quarter. → see also QUARTERS, at close quarters (CLOSE)
quarter² v [T] 1 to cut or divide into four parts 2 [(on)] to provide lodgings for (especially soldiers): He quartered his men on families in the town.
quar·ter·back /'kwɔːtəbæk||'kwɔːrtər-/ n (in FOOTBALL) the player who decides how the team will play and who passes the ball to the other players
'quarter day n BrE a day which officially begins a three-month period of the year, and on which payments are made
quar·ter·deck /'kwɔːtədek||'kwɔːrtər-/ n [the] tech part of the highest level of a ship, used only by officers
quar·ter·fi·nal /ˌkwɔːtə'faɪnl ||ˌkwɔːrtər-/ n any of four matches in a competition, whose winners will play in the two SEMIFINALS
quarter, horse n (in the US) a strong horse bred (BREED) to run short races, usually races of a quarter of a mile
quar·ter·ly¹ /'kwɔːtəli||'kwɔːrtər-/ adj, adv (happening, appearing etc) four times a year: quarterly payments | a quarterly newsletter
quarterly² n a magazine appearing four times a year
quar·ter·mas·ter /'kwɔːtəmɑːstə||'kwɔːrtərˌmæ-/ n a military officer in charge of provisions
quarter note n AmE for CROTCHET
quar·ters /'kwɔːtəz||'kwɔːrtərz/ n [P] lodgings: Married quarters are houses where soldiers live with their families.
quar·ter·staff /'kwɔːtəstɑːf||'kwɔːrtərstæf/ n pl. -staffs or -staves /steɪvz/ a long wooden pole used as a weapon, especially in former times
quar·tet, -tette /kwɔː'tet||kwɔːr-/ n especially BrE 1 (+sing./pl. v) four singers or musicians performing together: A quartet is/are playing tonight. 2 a piece of music for four performers → compare QUINTET, TRIO
quar·to /'kwɔːtə||'kwɔːr-/ n pl. -tos tech the (size of) paper produced by folding a large sheet of paper twice so as to give four sheets or eight pages in all: In most libraries, quarto books are kept separately because they are so big. → compare FOLIO, OCTAVO
quartz /kwɔːts||kwɔːrts/ n [U] a hard mineral substance, now used in making very exact watches and clocks
qua·sar /'kweɪzɑ||'kweɪzɑːr/ n tech a very bright very distant object like a star, whose exact nature is unknown → compare PULSAR
quash /kwɒʃ||kwɑːʃ, kwɔːʃ/ v [T] fml 1 to officially refuse to accept (something already decided): The high court judge quashed the decision of the lower court. 2 to bring to an end by force; CRUSH: The army quashed the rebellion.
quasi- → see WORD FORMATION TABLE
Qua·si·mo·do /ˌkwɑːzi'məʊdəʊ/ the main character in the book The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1831) by Victor HUGO. He is an ugly HUNCHBACK (=someone whose back has a large raised part at the top) whose job is to ring the bells in the CATHEDRAL OF NOTRE DAME in Paris.
quat·er·cen·te·na·ry /ˌkwɒtəsən'tiːnəri||ˌkwɑːtərsen'te-/ n the day or year exactly 400 years after a particular event: 1964 was the quatercentenary of Shakespeare's birth.
quat·rain /'kwɒtreɪn||'kwɑː-/ n a group of four lines which is a whole poem, or part of a poem
qua·ver¹ /'kweɪvə/ v 1 [I] (of a voice or music) to shake; TREMBLE 2 [T] to say in a shaky voice → y adj: a quavery voice
quaver² n 1 a shaking in the voice 2 BrE || eighth note AmE — a musical note with a time value half as long as a CROTCHET
quay /kiː/ n a place where boats can stop to load and unload, usually built of stone and usually forming part of a HARBOUR
Quayle, Dan /kweɪl/ (1947–) an American politician in the Republican Party who was Vice President from 1989 to 1993 under President George Bush. In 1976 he was elected to the House of Representatives and in 1980 he was elected to the Senate. He was known for making embarrassing mistakes while he was speaking.
quay·side /'kiːsaɪd/ n the area next to a quay: people strolling along the quayside | a quayside restaurant
quea·sy /'kwiːzi/ adj infml 1 feeling that one is going to VOMIT: I felt a little queasy on the ship. | a queasy stomach 2 (about, at) unwilling to do something; UNEASY —sily adv —siness n [U]
Que·bec /kwɪ'bɛk/ 1 a PROVINCE in eastern Canada, whose capital city is also called Quebec, and whose largest city is Montreal. Quebec is the centre of French Canadian CULTURE. Most of the population speak French as their first language, and there are laws forbidding the official use of English, for example in public signs. Many people in Quebec think that it should separate from the rest of Canada and become an independent country. In a REFERENDUM on this question in 1995, just under 50% of the population voted to leave Canada. People from Quebec are called Québécois, or sometimes Quebeckers. 2 the capital city of Quebec province, and the centre of French Canadian NATIONALISM
Quech·u·a /'kwetʃʊə/ n 1 [U] the language of the INCA people who ruled in the Andes area of South America until the 16th century. It is still spoken by many people in this area. 2 [C] a person from South America who speaks this language
queen¹ /kwiːn/ n 1 [(of)] (sometimes cap.) (the title of) a) a female ruler of a country, usually the daughter of a former ruler: Queen Elizabeth the Second | She became queen in 1952. b) the wife of a king → see KINGDOM (USAGE) 2 [(of)] the leading female, often chosen in a competition: a beauty queen | (fig.) London is the queen of British cities. → see also MAY QUEEN 3 (often in comb.) the leading female insect of a group: the queen ant/bee 4 a) the most powerful piece in CHESS → see picture at CHESSMAN b) [(of)] any of the four playing cards with a picture of a queen → see Cultural Note