quartering

American  

[kwawr-ter-ing] / ˈkwɔr tər ɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of a person or thing that quarters.

2. the assignment of quarters or lodgings.

3. Heraldry.

   1. the division of an escutcheon into quarters.

   2. the marshaling of various coats of arms on an escutcheon.

   3. any of the coats of arms so marshaled.

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adjective

1. that quarters.

2. lying at right angles.

3. Nautical. (of a wind) blowing on a ship's quarter.

quartering British  

/ ˈkwɔːtərɪŋ /

noun

1. military the allocation of accommodation to service personnel

2. heraldry

   1. the marshalling of several coats of arms on one shield, usually representing intermarriages

   2. any coat of arms marshalled in this way

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Etymology

Origin of quartering

First recorded in 1585–95; quarter + -ing ¹, -ing ²

Example Sentences

Shortly afterward, Diane Hartley, a student at Princeton writing a thesis on the project, draws attention to the effect of quartering winds—winds hitting the building’s facades at an angle.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025

For the founding generation, their defining experience of the dangers of domestic deployment of the military was the Boston Massacre and the quartering of British troops in private homes.

From Salon • Jul. 11, 2025

Interestingly, in the case of quartering waves, there was a negligible effect of propulsion power on the deviations.

From Science Daily • Jan. 3, 2024

The Huskies were trending toward a possible shutout, leading 37-0 going into the fourth quartering.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 21, 2020

Waves were quartering across the racecourse now, constantly threatening to throw the boats off keel.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown