quint

noun

ˈkwint 

plural quints

1

informal : quintuplet sense 2

Corinne, who was the smallest quint at birth—2 pounds, 14 ounces—is still the shortest.

—Chris Swingle

The natural birth rate for twins is 1 in 90; for quints it's around 1 in 65 million.

—Sara Kliff

2

: a jump (as in figure skating or skiing) that consists of at least five but less than six revolutions

… a Czech named Ales Valenta revolutionized the sport of freestyle aerials yesterday with a magical quint, five twists that earned him a spectacular score …

—Filip Bondy

Goebel … had already become the first U.S. skater to land a quad at the nationals … making them look so easy that his coach, Carol Heiss Jenkins, spoke of Goebel's someday doing a "quint."

—E. M. Swift

3

: a multi-purpose vehicle used by firefighters that includes a water tank, fire hose, pump, aerial ladder or platform, and portable ladders

Firefighters call it a "quint" because it combines five different functions, [David] Kinsey said. The truck carries a ladder, a hose, a pump with its own generator, a 400-gallon water tank and a 100-foot-long aerial tower.

—Jane Meinhardt

Over the next couple of years, aging engine and ladder trucks at the 10 lower-activity stations will be replaced with quints—fire trucks that carry ladders, water tank, pump, hoses and other rescue and fire suppression equipment.

—The Houston Chronicle

—often used before another noun

a quint fire truck

quint vehicles

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

And some experts think a quint—a quintuple, or five-revolution, jump—is theoretically within reach. —Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 14 Feb. 2022

Skaters should be mathematically able to do a quint Salchow or toe loop. —Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 14 Feb. 2022

But that’s not the only cause for celebration: The couple’s eldest daughter Blayke just turned 7 on April 5, and the quints turned 3 on April 8. —Aurelie Corinthios, PEOPLE.com, 12 Apr. 2018

Adam and Danielle Busby, parents of the famous Busby quints, are often flooded with prodding comments from fans online. —Kelly O'sullivan, Country Living, 23 July 2019

The quints are now 3 years old and big sister Blayke is 8. —Temi Adebowale, Country Living, 28 June 2018

Olivia wears circle earrings, while the rest of the quints wear stars. —Kelly O'sullivan, Country Living, 11 June 2019

Not as sure a thing: The year after L’affaire Sterling was when the Warriors began their quint-peat, reaching the NBA Finals five times in a row, something that hadn’t been done since the 1960s. —Gary Peterson, The Mercury News, 21 Aug. 2019

As Danielle tells us, the quints are gearing up to start their last year of pre-kindergarten, while Blayke is going into third grade and enrolled in her school's gifted and talented (G&T) program. —Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, 24 July 2019

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Word History

First Known Use

1934, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

quint

noun

ˈkwint 

: quintuplet

Medical Definition

quint

noun

ˈkwint 

informal : quintuplet