quarry

¹ American  

[kwawr-ee, kwor-ee] / ˈkwɔr i, ˈkwɒr i /

noun

quarries plural

1. an excavation or pit, usually open to the air, from which building stone, slate, or the like, is obtained by cutting, blasting, etc.

2. an abundant source or supply.

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verb (used with object)

quarries, present (3rd person singular) quarried, past participle, past quarrying present participle

1. to obtain (stone) from or as if from a quarry.

2. to make a quarry in.

quarry ² American  

[kwawr-ee, kwor-ee] / ˈkwɔr i, ˈkwɒr i /

noun

quarries plural

1. an animal or bird hunted or pursued.

2. game, especially game hunted with hounds or hawks.

3. any object of search, pursuit, or attack.

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quarry ³ American  

[kwawr-ee, kwor-ee] / ˈkwɔr i, ˈkwɒr i /

noun

quarries plural

1. a square stone or tile.

2. quarrel.

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quarry ¹ British  

/ ˈkwɒrɪ /

noun

1. an open surface excavation for the extraction of building stone, slate, marble, etc, by drilling, blasting, or cutting

2. a copious source of something, esp information

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verb

1. to extract (stone, slate, etc) from or as if from a quarry

2. (tr) to excavate a quarry in

3. to obtain (something, esp information) diligently and laboriously

   he was quarrying away in the reference library

quarry ² British  

/ ˈkwɒrɪ /

noun

1. a square or diamond shape

2. something having this shape

3. another word for quarrel 2

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quarry ³ British  

/ ˈkwɒrɪ /

noun

1. an animal, bird, or fish that is hunted, esp by other animals; prey

2. anything pursued or hunted

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• quarriable
  adjective
• quarryable
  adjective
• unquarried
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• quarries
  plural

Participles

• quarrying
  present
• quarried
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• quarry
  simple
• quarries
  simple
• have quarried
  perfect
• has quarried
  perfect
• am quarrying
  progressive
• are quarrying
  progressive
• is quarrying
  progressive
• have been quarrying
  perfect progressive
• has been quarrying
  perfect progressive

Past

• quarried
  simple
• had quarried
  perfect
• was quarrying
  progressive
• were quarrying
  progressive
• had been quarrying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will quarry
  simple
• will have quarried
  perfect
• will be quarrying
  progressive
• will have been quarrying
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of quarry¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English noun quarrei, quarey, quar(r)i, from Medieval Latin quareia, quarrea, quareria, from Old French quarriere, from unrecorded Vulgar Latin quadrāria “place where stone is squared,” derivative of Latin quadrāre “to square”

Origin of quarry²

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English quirre, querre, quirrei “parts of a deer given to the hounds,” from Old French cuiree, cuiriee, curee “viscera, entrails” (probably influenced by cuir “leather, hide, skin”), from Latin corium “skin, hide, leather”), from Late Latin corāta (plural) “entrails,” from cor “heart”

Origin of quarry³

First recorded in 1535–45; noun use of obsolete adjective quarry “square,” from Old French quarre, from Latin quadrātus quadrate

Explanation

Both meanings of quarry have to do with going after something. An animal being hunted is called quarry, and when you dig a hole in the earth looking for rocks, both the digging and the hole are called quarry as well. Gross fact: Quarry derives from the Latin cor "heart," because hunters used to drape the entrails of their chosen quarry on their dogs' backs. The origin in a word for "heart" can help you remember both quarries: a rock quarry is searching down toward the heart of the earth; a stag's heart is considered a hunter's greatest prize.

Example Sentences

Francis Ngannou dropped out of school to work in a sand quarry at 10 years old and illegally migrated from Cameroon to France to pursue boxing, and went from homeless to heavyweight champion.

From Slate • Jun. 14, 2026

The specimen was first uncovered by a retired chicken farmer, who had sourced rocks from a nearby quarry to build a garden retaining wall.

From Science Daily • May 6, 2026

A Reddit user said they were sent to count rocks in below-freezing weather, including a pile in a snake-infested quarry.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

Which reminds me of another hapless cartoon character who thought himself a genius but who kept screwing things up in ceaseless pursuit of his quarry: Wile E. Coyote.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

We headed away from the quarry, which would have been a relief if I thought we were going someplace better.

From "Prisoner B-3087" by Alan Gratz