quarter hour

noun

1

: fifteen minutes

2

: any of the quarter points of an hour

3

: a unit of academic credit representing an hour of class (such as lecture class) or three hours of laboratory work each week for an academic quarter

Examples of quarter hour in a Sentence

Trains depart every quarter hour.

I waited a quarter hour in line.

Recent Examples on the Web

Residents will be able to access their everyday needs in just a quarter hour within The Ellinikon’s 15-minute neighborhoods, which should reduce need for motor vehicles. —Jeffrey Steele, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025

First, the elephant in the room: A change by ratings company Nielsen now gives credit for a quarter hour of listening as long as a Nielsen meter holder listens for just three minutes in that quarter, down from the previous five. —Richard Wagoner, Oc Register, 26 May 2025

The 88-year-old pontiff, in a wheelchair, arrived at around 6 p.m. local time accompanied by his nurse and stayed for about a quarter hour, stopping to pray at St. Peter's tomb, the Italian press service Ansa reported. —Phoebe Natanson, ABC News, 19 Apr. 2025

The minute repeater mechanism is set into action via a slide on the left-hand side of the case to strike the hours at a low pitch, the quarter hours at a double tone, and the minutes that have elapsed since the last hour with a higher pitch tone. —Justin Fenner, Robb Report, 1 Apr. 2025

Inauguration viewing peaked overall in the 12:15 p.m. Eastern quarter hour at 34.4 million, falling short of the 40 million viewers who watched Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris take the oath of office in 2021. —Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2025

Viewership peaked in the 12:15 quarter hour, as Trump was giving his inaugural address. —Ted Johnson, Deadline, 21 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1597, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for quarter hour

• airpower
• brainpower
• devour
• empower
• firepower
• horsepower
• manpower
• mayflower
• safflower
• sunflower
• wallflower
• watchtower

Kids Definition

quarter hour

noun

1

: any of the quarter points of an hour

2

: 15 minutes