quartet

noun

quar·​tet kwȯr-ˈtet 

variants or less commonly quartette

1

: a musical composition for four instruments or voices

2

: a group or set of four

especially : the performers of a quartet

Examples of quartet in a Sentence

He is a member of a jazz quartet.

a string quartet by Beethoven

The author wrote a quartet of novels about the same character.

Recent Examples on the Web

Down a third of its crew (and periodically appearing as a trio), the quartet-for-now seeks modern girl-group chart history while nagged by uncertainty and controversy that extends to their music. — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 21 Aug. 2026

To study it, astronomers utilized the ESO’s GRAVITY+ instrument alongside the VLTI, which combines light from a quartet of 26-foot-wide telescopes to create a virtual composite with 15 times the spatial resolution as a single telescope. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 19 Aug. 2026

The fees for Morgan Rogers, Elliot Anderson, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali total over £400m, with that quartet leaving behind talismanic status at their old sides to chase silverware at the traditional ‘Big Six’ teams. — George Edwards, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026

The two dashing newcomers have since been regaling the Georgia Aquarium’s existing belugas, a quartet of females*, with tales of their peregrinations. — Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 17 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Italian quartetto, from quarto fourth, from Latin quartus — more at quart

First Known Use

1773, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing quartet

• barbershop quartet
• string quartet

Rhymes for quartet

• abet
• asset
• baguette
• banquette
• barbette
• beget
• beset
• binet
• briquette
• brunet
• brunette
• burette

Kids Definition

quartet

noun

quar·​tet

variants also quartette

kwȯr-ˈtet 

1

a

: a musical composition for four instruments or voices

b

: the performers of a quartet

2

: a group or set of four