quarters

/ˈkɔrɾərs/

/ˈkwɔtəs/

A place for people to live, especially if they're in the military, can be called quarters. If you join the Army, your quarters might be a dorm-like space that you share with many other people.

You can use this word to mean "housing" generally, although it's most common for soldiers and servants to live in quarters. A wealthy family with maids and a butler who live in their house might set aside servants' quarters on the top floor, for example. During the period of slavery in the US, slaves also lived in quarters. If you and your brother live in "close quarters," it means the two of you share a fairly small room.

Definitions of quarters

1. noun

   housing available for people to live in
   “he found quarters for his family”

   “I visited his bachelor quarters”

   synonyms: living quarters

   types:

   accommodation

   living quarters provided for public convenience

   diggings, digs, domiciliation, lodgings, pad

   temporary living quarters

   dorm, dormitory, hall, residence hall, student residence

   a college or university building containing living quarters for students

   fo'c'sle, forecastle

   living quarters consisting of a superstructure in the bow of a merchant ship where the crew is housed

   hareem, harem, seraglio, serail

   living quarters reserved for wives and concubines and female relatives in a Muslim household

   military quarters

   living quarters for personnel on a military post

   barrack

   a building or group of buildings used to house military personnel

   cabin class, economy class, second class

   a class of accommodations on a ship or train or plane that are less expensive than first class accommodations

   bivouac, camp, cantonment, encampment

   temporary living quarters specially built by the army for soldiers

   first class

   the most expensive accommodations on a ship or train or plane

   gun room

   military quarters of midshipmen and junior officers on a British warship

   hall of residence

   a university dormitory

   lodging house, rooming house

   a house where rooms are rented

   stabling

   accommodation for animals (especially for horses)

   steerage

   the cheapest accommodations on a passenger ship

   third class, tourist class

   inexpensive accommodations on a ship or train

   wardroom

   military quarters for dining and recreation for officers of a warship (except the captain)

   type of:

   housing, living accommodations, lodging

   structures collectively in which people are housed