quadrant

/ˈkwɑdrənt/

/ˈkwɒdrɪnt/

Other forms: quadrants

A quadrant is one-fourth of a circle. When you bake an apple pie and then cut it equally so that you and three of your friends get pieces that are the same size, you'll each get a quadrant of the pie.

When a circle is evenly divided into four sections by two perpendicular lines, each of the four areas is a quadrant. In fact, anything that's split into four equal parts can be described as being made up of quadrants, like a quadrant of a public park. The Latin root word is quadrantem, fourth part, and for many years quadrant was used to mean six hours, or one-quarter of a day.

Definitions of quadrant

1. noun

   any of the four areas into which a plane is divided by two orthogonal coordinate axes
   type of:

   area, country

   a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)
2. noun

   the area enclosed by two perpendicular radii of a circle
   type of:

   area, country

   a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)
3. noun

   a quarter of the circumference of a circle
   synonyms: quarter-circle

   type of:

   line

   a spatial location defined by a real or imaginary unidimensional extent
4. noun

   a measuring instrument for measuring altitude of heavenly bodies
   type of:

   measuring device, measuring instrument, measuring system

   instrument that shows the extent or amount or quantity or degree of something