quartile

noun

quar·​tile ˈkwȯr-ˌtī(-ə)l 

-tᵊl

: any of the three values that divide the items of a frequency distribution into four classes with each containing one fourth of the total population

also : any one of the four classes

Did you know?

A quartile is a quarter of a specific group that has been tested or evaluated in specific ways. The first quartile is the one that scores highest and the fourth quartile scores lowest. For achievement and proficiency tests, the first quartile is the place to be; for blood pressure or cholesterol, the third quartile is healthier.

Examples of quartile in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Life insurers, meanwhile, have maintained leverage in the top quartile of their historical distribution, while their exposure to non-traditional liabilities has continued to grow. —Mayra Rodriguez Valladares, Forbes.com, 9 May 2026

Chief purchasing officers are facing intense productivity pressure, with roughly 70 percent targeting annual cost reductions of 2 percent to 5 percent, while top-quartile procurement teams push for 5 percent to 6 percent savings. —Catherine Nekavand, Footwear News, 7 May 2026

One in three graduates now falls in the bottom bracket of earnings relative to their reasonable expectations, even though only about 10% are in the lowest absolute earnings quartile. —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 3 May 2026

The fund added nearly 12% in 2025, but was among the bottom quartile of comparable offerings, per Morningstar. —Alex Harring, CNBC, 25 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary, from Latin quartus

First Known Use

1879, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for quartile

• mortal
• immortal