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

Boston closed the first quarter with a 17-4 run, getting quality minutes from its bench quartet of Pritchard, Walsh, Luka Garza and Hugo Gonzalez. —Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 28 Mar. 2026

The bullpen quartet of Chase Silseth, Ryan Zeferjahn (1-0), Sam Bachman and Jordan Romano combined for 4⅔ scoreless innings. —Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2026

The bullpen quartet of Chase Silseth, Ryan Zeferjahn (1-0), Sam Bachman and Jordan Romano combined for 4 2/3 scoreless innings. —ABC News, 27 Mar. 2026

The quartet along with their backups, NASA astronaut Andre Douglas and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jenni Gibbons, have been in quarantine since March 18. —Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Mar. 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
• brevet
• 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