at close quarters

1. (of fighting) hand-to-hand or at close range
2. In close proximity

close at or to hand

Easily accessible

close on

Almost, nearly

close to the chest

Without revealing one's intentions

close to home

Too near to one's own situation to be comfortable

run someone close

To be very near someone in standard or achievement

quarter /kwörˈtər/

noun

1. A fourth part
2. A 25-cent piece, 25 cents, quarter of a dollar (N American)
3. The fourth part of an hour, of the year, of the moon's period (or the moon's position at the end of it), of the world, etc
4. One of the four periods of play into which certain games are divided
5. The fourth part of a cwt = 28 (or in US 25) lb avoirdupois
6. 8 bushels (perh orig a fourth of a ton of corn)
7. (also quarter-pound) a quarter of a pound, 4oz (informal)
8. A cardinal point, or any point, of the compass
9. The region about any point of the compass
10. A region generally
11. A town district inhabited by a particular class
12. An unspecified person or group regarded as a source of information, support, etc
13. A part of an army, camp, etc (Shakespeare)
14. (usu in pl) lodging, esp for soldiers
15. An assigned station or position
16. Terms, relations, treatment, esp favourable (Shakespeare)
17. Mercy granted to an antagonist (perh from sending to quarters)
18. The part of a ship's side to the rear of its widest point
19. A limb with adjacent parts of the trunk, esp (historical) of the dismembered body of an executed person, or of an animal carcass
20. A haunch of a live animal
21. Each of the two pieces on a boot or shoe from the centre of the heel to the vamp
22. Each side of a horse's hoof
23. One of the four parts of a quartered shield (heraldry)
24. An ordinary occupying one-fourth of the field (heraldry)
25. A quartering (heraldry)

transitive verb

1. To divide into four equal or nearly equal parts
2. To dismember (the body of a traitor, etc) (historical)
3. To divide into parts or compartments
4. To station, lodge or put in quarters
5. To bear, place or divide quarterly (heraldry)
6. (esp of dogs) to range for game, to search thoroughly

intransitive verb

1. To be stationed
2. To lodge
3. (of a dog) to range for game
4. To drive a carriage or cart with the wheels between the ruts, or the horse(s) astride a rut
5. To drive to the side of the road, or from side to side
6. (of the wind) to blow onto a ship's quarter

combining form

1. (denoting adjectivally) one-fourth part (of)
2. (denoting adverbially) to the extent of one-fourth

quarˈterage noun

1. A quarterly payment
2. Quarters, lodging

quarˈtered adjective

quarˈtering adjective

1. (of a ship) sailing nearly before the wind
2. (of a wind) striking on the quarter of a ship

noun

1. Assignment of quarters
2. A series of small upright posts for forming partitions, lathed and plastered only, or boarded also (architecture)
3. The division of a coat by horizontal and vertical lines (heraldry)
4. One of the divisions so formed
5. The marshalling of coats in these divisions, indicating family alliances
6. Any one of the coats so marshalled

quarˈterly adjective

1. Relating to a quarter, esp of a year
2. Recurring, or published, once a quarter
3. Divided into or marshalled in quarters (heraldry)

adverb

1. Once a quarter
2. In quarters or quarterings (heraldry)

noun

A quarterly periodical

quartˈerback noun (American football)

The player between the linemen and the halfbacks, who directs the attacking play of the team

quarˈter-binding noun

A type of bookbinding in which the spine and a small part of the sides are covered with a different material than the rest of the book

quarˈter-blood noun

A person of one-quarter Native American descent

quarˈter-bound adjective

Bound using quarter-binding

quarˈter-boy or quarˈter-jack noun

An automaton that strikes the quarter-hours

quarˈter-bred adjective

(of horses, cattle, etc) having only one-fourth pure blood

quarter day noun

The day on each of the year's quarters on which rent or interest is due to be paid

quarˈterdeck noun

The part of the deck of a ship abaft the mainmast, used by cabin passengers and by superior officers (and saluted on warships)

quarˈterdecker noun (naval sl)

A stickler for naval etiquette

quarˈter-evil or quarter-ill noun

Black-quarter (qv)

quarˈter-fiˈnal noun

The round before the semi-final in a knockout competition

quarˈter-gallery noun

A projecting balcony on a ship's quarter

quarˈter-guard noun

A guard of a battalion in camp

quarˈter-gunner noun (US; historical)

A naval petty-officer, under the gunner, a gunner's mate

quarˈter-horse noun (US)

A horse that can run a quarter of a mile or so at great speed

quarter hour noun

1. A period of fifteen minutes
2. A point marking such a period on a clock, etc

quarter-hourˈly adverb

quarˈter-jack noun

1. See quarter-boy above
2. A quartermaster (slang)

quarˈterlight noun

A small triangular window in a car for ventilation

quarˈtermaster noun

1. (also fem quarˈtermistress) an officer who is responsible for the accommodation, weapons and supplies of a group of soldiers
2. A petty officer who attends to the helm, signals, etc (nautical)

quartermaster-genˈeral noun

A staff-officer who deals with transport, marches, quarters, fuel, clothing, etc

quartermaster-serˈgeant noun

A senior non-commissioned officer with administrative duties

quarter-milˈer noun

An athlete whose speciality is the 400 metres or quarter-mile race

quarter note noun

1. A crotchet (N American)
2. A quarter-tone

quarˈter-plate see under plate

quarter-poundˈer noun

A burger weighing a quarter of a pound

quarˈter-rail noun

A rail stretching from a ship's gangway to its stern

quarˈter-repeating adjective

(of a repeating watch or clock) that strikes the quarter hours

quarˈter-road noun

A road divided into four strips by ruts and horse-track

quarˈter-round noun

A moulding whose section is about a quadrant, an ovolo

quarˈter-saw transitive verb (pat and pap quarˈter-sawed or quarˈter-sawn)

To saw (timber) from quartered logs, so that the face of the planks is at an angle of at least 45º to the growth rings

quarˈter-seal noun

The seal kept by the director of the Chancery of Scotland, known also as ‘the testimonial of the Great Seal’

quarter section noun (N American)

An area of land half a mile square, 160 acres

quarˈter-sessions plural noun

A court formerly held quarterly by justices of the peace (superseded in England and Wales in 1972 by crown courts)

quarˈterstaff noun

1. A long wooden pole with an iron tip, an old weapon of defence
2. The use of this weapon

quarˈter-tone noun

Half a semitone

quarˈter-wind noun

A wind blowing on a ship's quarter

(a) quarter after or past

Fifteen minutes after (a specified hour)

(a) quarter to

Fifteen minutes before the hour

at close quarters

1. In very near proximity
2. Hand-to-hand

keep a quarter or a bad quarter (obsolete)

To make a disturbance

keep good quarter (Shakespeare)

To keep good watch or good order