quote

1 of 2

verb

ˈkwōt 

also

ˈkōt 

quoted; quoting

transitive verb

1

a

: to speak or write (a passage) from another usually with credit acknowledgment

b

: to repeat a passage from especially in substantiation or illustration

c

: borrow sense 2a

quoting the motifs of past artists

2

: to cite in illustration

quote a similar case

3

a

: to state (the current price or bid-offer spread) for a commodity, stock, or bond

b

: to give exact information on

4

: to set off by quotation marks

intransitive verb

: to inform a hearer or reader that matter following is quoted

quoter noun

quote

2 of 2

noun

1

: quotation

2

: quotation mark

—often used orally to indicate the beginning of a direct quotation

Synonyms

Verb

• cite
• mention
• reference

Noun

• quotation

Examples of quote in a Sentence

Verb

He began his speech by quoting Shakespeare.

The reporter quoted the police chief as saying that an investigation would be launched soon.

He quotes the Bible frequently.

Noun

Each chapter of the book began with an inspirational quote.

She included quotes from the poem in her essay.

The article included quotes from the mayor and several councilors.

The price quotes exceeded our expectations.

I checked the stock quotes online.

Titles of newspaper articles should be placed in quotes.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Google co-founder Sergey Brin has been widely quoted as instructing his office designers to assure no employee was more than 200 feet away from food. —Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 12 July 2025

Unexpectedly, he's been taking it upon himself to continue quoting verses, stepping into the role of a preacher. —Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 July 2025

Noun

Earlier this year Harvard created its own task force to investigate antisemitism on campus, and many examples and quotes from that report were cited in the federal OCR review. —Elissa Nadworny, NPR, 30 June 2025

To celebrate Pride month, McClane has revived a project combining portraits and quotes from LGBTQ+ individuals to express their stories. —Kaitlin McCallum, Hartford Courant, 29 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Medieval Latin quotare to mark the number of, number references, from Latin quotus of what number or quantity, from quot how many, (as) many as; akin to Latin qui who — more at who

First Known Use

Verb

1582, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

1888, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing quote

• pull quote
• quote as saying
• quote someone on
• quote, unquote
• quote you on that

Rhymes for quote

• bloat
• boat
• choate
• coat
• cote
• dote
• float
• gloat
• goat
• groat
• haute
• moat

Kids Definition

quote

1 of 2 verb

ˈkwōt 

quoted; quoting

1

: to repeat (someone else's words) exactly

quote Shakespeare

2

: to give as an example

3

: to set off written material by quotation marks

quote

2 of 2 noun

1

: quotation sense 3

2

: quotation mark