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quartet

noun

quar·​tet kwȯr-ˈtet How to pronounce quartet (audio)
variants or less commonly quartette
Synonyms of quartetnext
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
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Back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Sanford Moore led that vocal quartet through several successful years at local clubs, offering its own contemporary spin on jazz standards. Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 6 Dec. 2025 The finale brings back the core quartet of Sayani Gupta, Kirti Kulhari, Bani J and Maanvi Gagroo, who return alongside Prateik Smita Patil, Milind Soman, Rajeev Siddhartha, Lisa Ray and Ankur Rathee reprising their roles. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 5 Dec. 2025 If everyone sticks around, the quartet of OJ Frederique, Damari Brown, Xavier Lucas and Ethan O’Connor will be very good, with Chris Ewald, Ja’Boree Antoine and the four incoming freshmen ready to step in if any of the top four veterans take a higher financial offer from another school. Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 4 Dec. 2025 Getting Killed, Geese Three albums in, this ecstatic breakthrough dropped the quartet of 23-year-old Brooklyn art-rockers square into the eye of hype’s storm. Jenn Pelly, Time, 4 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for quartet

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of quartet was in 1773

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Quartet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quartet. Accessed 9 Dec. 2025.

Kids Definition

quartet

noun
quar·​tet
variants also quartette
1
a
: a musical composition for four instruments or voices
b
: the performers of a quartet
2
: a group or set of four

More from Merriam-Webster on quartet

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