quartile

noun

quar·​tile ˈkwȯr-ˌtī(-ə)l 

-tᵊl

: any of the three values that divide the items of a frequency distribution into four classes with each containing one fourth of the total population

also : any one of the four classes

Did you know?

A quartile is a quarter of a specific group that has been tested or evaluated in specific ways. The first quartile is the one that scores highest and the fourth quartile scores lowest. For achievement and proficiency tests, the first quartile is the place to be; for blood pressure or cholesterol, the third quartile is healthier.

Examples of quartile in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Next-lowest quartile gets three tickets. —Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025

Last year alone, 42% of CEO transitions in the S&P 500 occurred at companies whose total shareholder return was in the bottom quartile. —Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2025

The four funds had outperformed most of their regional peers, according to a company spokesperson, ranking in the top quartile of 479 private equity and venture capital funds in emerging Asia markets surveyed by Cambridge Associates as of the end of the first quarter. —Anniek Bao, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2025

Nimmo’s 45% groundball rate is in the top quartile among major league hitters. —Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary, from Latin quartus

First Known Use

1879, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for quartile

• mortal
• immortal