quarterly

/ˈkwɔrdərli/

/ˈkwɔtəli/

Other forms: quarterlies

Something that happens quarterly occurs four times per year, like your family's quarterly visit to your grandparents' house in Florida.

Magazines that are published every three months come out quarterly — in fact, they're commonly referred to as quarterlies. For businesses, many things happen on a quarterly schedule, from the quarterly taxes they pay to quarterly reports sent to shareholders. Think of a year as consisting of four quarters; anything occurring once per quarter happens quarterly. The Latin root, quartus, means "the fourth."

Definitions of quarterly

1. adjective

   of or relating to or consisting of a quarter
   “quarterly report”
2. adverb

   in three-month intervals
   “interest is compounded quarterly”

   synonyms: every quarter
3. noun

   a periodical that is published every quarter (or four issues per year)
   type of:

   serial, serial publication, series

   a periodical that appears at scheduled times
4. adverb

   in diagonally opposed quarters of an escutcheon
   “two coats of arms borne quarterly”