quadrangle

noun quad·ran·gle \ ˈkwä-ˌdraŋ-gəl \

Definition of quadrangle

1 : quadrilateral

2 a : a 4-sided enclosure especially when surrounded by buildings

b : the buildings enclosing a quadrangle

3 : a tract of country represented by one of a series of map sheets

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quadrangular

play \kwä-ˈdraŋ-gyə-lər\ adjective

See quadrangle defined for English-language learners

See quadrangle defined for kids

Examples of quadrangle in a Sentence

since the weather was sunny, the convocation was held outside in the college's quadrangle

Recent Examples of quadrangle from the Web

While the exterior details are consistently faux, the residential interiors are more Courtyard by Marriott than Princeton quadrangle.

— christopher hawthorne, latimes.com, "College campuses are constructing buildings that look like they're straight out of Harry Potter's world," 21 Dec. 2017
The site is now a humble gray quadrangle, encircled by university research facilities and libraries.

— ryan p. smith, Smithsonian, "How the First Man-Made Nuclear Reactor Reshaped Science and Society," 15 Dec. 2017
This obnoxious man, this revolutionary of the quadrangles, should remain a Drexel professor in official standing.

— theodore kupfer, National Review, "No, George Ciccariello-Maher Doesn’t Believe in Academic Freedom," 12 Oct. 2017
At the University of Michigan Law Library addition of 1981, Birkerts did not mimic the Collegiate Gothic architecture of the school's celebrated law quadrangle.

— blair kamin, chicagotribune.com, "Gunnar Birkerts, acclaimed Midwestern architect, dies at 92," 15 Aug. 2017
The school opened its doors again on March 25, on a new 55-acre main campus across the street, with dorms for faculty and female students, and a grass quadrangle where students gather to play soccer and volleyball.

— annie gowen, Washington Post, "Kabul’s American University just reopened after terrorist attack. Now it’s facing new threats.," 15 June 2017
Everywhere in Paris, soldiers stalked the streets in tight quadrangles, assault rifles at the ready.

— elisabeth zerofsky, New York Times, "Can a New Generation in the Banlieues Change French Politics?," 7 June 2017
The idea took hold more than a decade ago, after Seuss’ other stepdaughter, Lark Grey Dimond-Cates, created a memorial sculpture garden of bronze Seuss characters for the quadrangle in Springfield.

— john wilkens, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Dr. Seuss gets his own museum in hometown of Springfield, Mass.," 2 June 2017
Her alma mater had received support from UNESCO and had served as a model school for foreign visitors, its cluster of marble-white buildings poised like an aristocratic swan among gray alleyways and sprawling, run-down quadrangles.

— andy borowitz, The New Yorker, "A Small Flame," 8 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'quadrangle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of quadrangle

Middle English, from Middle French, from Late Latin quadriangulum, from Latin, neuter of quadriangulus quadrangular, from quadri- + angulus angle

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

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quadrangle Synonyms

Synonyms

close, court, courtyard, enclosure (also inclosure), patio, quad, yard;

Related Words

atrium, galleria, peristyle;

forecourt, place, plaza, square;

deck, terrace;

Other Mathematics and Statistics Terms

abscissa, denominator, divisor, equilateral, exponent, hypotenuse, logarithm, oblique, radii, rhomb

QUADRANGLE Defined for English Language Learners

quadrangle

noun

Definition of quadrangle for English Language Learners

geometry : a flat shape that has four sides and four angles
: an open square or rectangular area at a college, school, etc., that is surrounded by buildings on all four sides