quadrate

[ adjective noun kwod-rit, -reyt; verb kwod-reyt ]

adjective

1. square or rectangular.
2. Zoology. of or relating to the quadrate.
3. Heraldry. (of a cross) having an enlarged square at the junction of the limbs:

   a cross quadrate.

noun

1. a square.
2. something square or rectangular.
3. Zoology. one of a pair of bones in the skulls of many lower vertebrates, to which the lower jaw is articulated.

verb (used with object)

, quad·rat·ed, quad·rat·ing.

1. to cause to conform or harmonize; adapt.

verb (used without object)

, quad·rat·ed, quad·rat·ing.

1. to agree; conform.

quadrate

noun

1. a cube, square, or a square or cubelike object
2. one of a pair of bones of the upper jaw of fishes, amphibians, reptiles, and birds that articulates with the lower jaw. In mammals it forms the incus

adjective

1. of or relating to this bone
2. square or rectangular

verb

1. tr to make square or rectangular
2. often foll by with to conform or cause to conform

Other Words From

• sub·quadrate adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of quadrate¹

1350–1400; Middle English quadrat (noun and adj.) < Latin quadrātus (past participle of quadrāre to make square)

Word History and Origins

Origin of quadrate¹

C14: from Latin quadrāre to make square

Example Sentences

Foxes pause ghostlike on the permafrost.With one quadrate eye, the vault reflects a frigid blue sea.

From Scientific American

M. mínimus, L. Fruiting spike 1–2´ long; achenes quadrate, blunt.—Alluvial ground, Ill. and Ky., thence south and west.

From Project Gutenberg

The free surfaces of the upper teeth are quadrate, except the first and last, which are nearly triangular.

From Project Gutenberg

The King’s remark certainly does not quadrate with Burnet’s statement, that Penn “had a tedious luscious way of talking.”

From Project Gutenberg

The English would do well to make a Present of it to the Republic of Venice, where this Stone would quadrate exactly with the Piece of Moses’s Rock in St. Mark’s Church.

From Project Gutenberg