quarter hour

noun

Definition of quarter hour

1 : fifteen minutes

2 : any of the quarter points of an hour

3 : a unit of academic credit representing an hour of class (such as lecture class) or three hours of laboratory work each week for an academic quarter

Examples of quarter hour in a Sentence

Trains depart every quarter hour. I waited a quarter hour in line.

Recent Examples on the Web

The period of totality — when the moon is in the darkest part of Earth's shadow — will last a bit more than one and a quarter hours, according to EarthSky.org. — David Freeman /, NBC News, "A 'super blue blood moon' is coming. Here's how to see it," 24 Jan. 2018 Clocks were rapidly developing in the Middle Ages and division into a rough quarter hour was imaginable. — Merrill Fabry, Time, "Why Is Tennis Scored So Weirdly?," 11 Jan. 2018 And viewership peaked with nearly 7 million viewers in the 6:30-6:45 quarter hour. — George Diaz, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Talladega wrecks competitive vibe of playoffs with random chaos," 17 Oct. 2017

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