Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense quarries, present participle quarrying, past tense, past participle quarried
1. countable noun
A quarry is an area that is dug out from a piece of land or the side of a mountain in order to get stone or minerals.
...an old limestone quarry.
2. verb
When stone or minerals are quarried or when an area is quarried for them, they are removed from the area by digging, drilling, or using explosives.
The large limestone caves are also quarried for cement. [beVERB-ed]
...locally quarried stone. [VERB-ed]
Synonyms: excavate, mine, dig up, dig out More Synonyms of quarry
quarryinguncountable noun
Farming, quarrying and other local industries have declined.
3. singular noun
A person's or animal's quarry is the person or animal that they are hunting.
More Synonyms of quarry
quarry in British English1
(ˈkwɒrɪ)
nounWord forms: plural-ries
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
verbWord forms: -ries, -rying or -ried
3.
to extract (stone, slate, etc) from or as if from a quarry
4. (transitive)
to excavate a quarry in
5.
to obtain (something, esp information) diligently and laboriously
he was quarrying away in the reference library
Word origin
C15: from Old French quarriere, from quarre (unattested) square-shaped stone, from Latin quadrāre to make square
quarry in British English2
(ˈkwɒrɪ)
nounWord forms: plural-ries
1.
an animal, bird, or fish that is hunted, esp by other animals; prey
2.
anything pursued or hunted
Word origin
C14 quirre entrails offered to the hounds, from Old French cuirée what is placed on the hide, from cuir hide, from Latin corium leather; probably also influenced by Old French coree entrails, from Latin cor heart
quarry in British English3
(ˈkwɒrɪ)
nounWord forms: plural-ries
1.
a square or diamond shape
2.
something having this shape
3. another word for quarrel2
Word origin
C16: from Old French quarré; see quarrel2
quarry in American English1
(ˈkwɔri; ˈkwɑri)
nounWord forms: pluralˈquarries
1.
an animal that is being hunted down, esp. with dogs or hawks; prey
2.
anything being hunted or pursued
Word origin
ME querre, orig., parts of the prey put on the hide and fed to dogs < OFr cuiree, altered (infl. by cuir, a hide) < ML *corata, viscera < L cor, heart
quarry in American English2
(ˈkwɔri; ˈkwɑri)
nounWord forms: pluralˈquarries
a square or diamond-shaped piece of glass, tile, etc.
Word origin
var. of quarrel2
quarry in American English3
(ˈkwɔri; ˈkwɑri)
nounWord forms: pluralˈquarries
1.
a place where building stone, marble, or slate is excavated, as by cutting or blasting
verb transitiveWord forms: ˈquarried or ˈquarrying
2.
to excavate from a quarry
3.
to make a quarry in (land)
Word origin
ME quarey < ML quarreia, contr. of quarreria, quadraria, lit., place where stones are squared < L quadrare, to square: see quadrate
Examples of 'quarry' in a sentence
quarry
My grandfather earned the money for the ring by doing hard labor in a stone quarry.
Christianity Today (2000)
Quarry workers digging limestone had found bones that they thought were the remains of a bear.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Old quarries were used for storing wine and growing mushrooms.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
We walked past equipment from disused stone quarries along the way.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
There are at least two quarries in this book.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The whole thing underwritten by a local quarry.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The remains of former chalk quarries can be seen above the road on the north side.
Perring, Franklyn A Guide to Britain's Conservation Heritage (1991)
He did years of hard labour in a limestone quarry.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
He also warned of the perils of disused quarries.
The Sun (2015)
My dad was a fitter in a local quarry as was my grandad.
The Sun (2015)
Its stone quarries are long established.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The quarry worker told her he had kicked the habit and they went to Cyprus.
The Sun (2012)
Both, as well as quarry and cement tiles.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
In reality much of it is also quarries, derelict land and commercial forestry.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The cat was spotted on Wednesday night by a quarry worker.
The Sun (2016)
Built in a cement quarry.
The Sun (2015)
Old quarries, with restricted access, provide an additional habitat.
Perring, Franklyn A Guide to Britain's Conservation Heritage (1991)
There were barges loading granite, tin and copper from local mines and quarries to be carried down river to Plymouth and the sea.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Behind us were bigger and more recent quarries and mines that had been worked for copper, lead and cobalt until the end of the 19th century.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
In other languages
quarry
British English: quarry /ˈkwɒrɪ/ NOUN
A quarry is an area that is dug out from a piece of land or mountainside in order to extract stone, slate, or minerals.
...the biggest stone quarry in the country.
American English: quarry
Arabic: مَحْجَر
Brazilian Portuguese: pedreira
Chinese: 采石场
Croatian: kamenolom
Czech: lom na kámen
Danish: brud stenbrud
Dutch: steengroeve
European Spanish: cantera
Finnish: louhos
French: carrière roche
German: Steinbruch
Greek: λατομείο
Italian: cava
Japanese: 採石場
Korean: 채석장
Norwegian: steinbrudd
Polish: łup
European Portuguese: pedreira
Romanian: carieră
Russian: карьер
Latin American Spanish: cantera
Swedish: stenbrott
Thai: สถานที่ที่ขุดเอาหินออกมา
Turkish: taş ocağı
Ukrainian: кар'єр
Vietnamese: mỏ đá
British English: quarry VERB
When stone or minerals are quarried or when an area is quarried for them, they are removed from the area by digging, drilling, or using explosives.
The large limestone caves are also quarried for cement.
American English: quarry
Brazilian Portuguese: extrair
Chinese: 开采
European Spanish: extraer
French: extraire
German: brechen
Italian: estrarreminerali
Japanese: 採石する
Korean: 채석하다
European Portuguese: extrair
Latin American Spanish: extraer
All related terms of 'quarry'
quarry tile
a square or diamond-shaped unglazed floor tile
marble quarry
a quarry where marble is extracted
slate quarry
a quarry where slate is mined
sandstone quarry
a quarry from which sand is extracted
quarry-tiled floor
a floor covered with square or diamond-shaped unglazed floor tiles