quarry

¹ American  

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

noun

plural

quarries

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)

quarried, quarrying

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

plural

quarries

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

plural

quarries

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

• quarriable
  adjective
• quarryable
  adjective
• unquarried
  adjective

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

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

Auditors are often tasked with traveling to the middle of nowhere and tallying up a large amount of unusual things, from chickens and pigs to quarry rocks, corn, traffic lights and telephone poles.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

He supported legal action against the UK government opposing levies on aggregates, before selling his stake in the quarry last year in a deal which he said was worth £70m.

From BBC • Feb. 13, 2026

"We have collected over 50,000 fossil specimens from a single quarry that is 12 metres high, 30 metres long and eight metres wide," added the lead author of a new study in the journal Nature.

From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026

We are working completely below the surface of the quarry now.

From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman