ENGLISH
REFERENCE

quadrant

n. countable
C1 Advanced US //ˈkwɑdɹənt// UK //kwˈɒdɹənt// quad·rant Archaic

n. one of four equal parts that a circle or an area is divided into. You often see this in math or on maps to describe a specific section.

n. one of the four sections into which a plane is divided by two perpendicular axes, or a quarter of a circle's circumference. Often refers to a specific area of a grid or a coordinate system.


SIMPLE

The target is located in the upper-right quadrant of the screen.

CONTEXTUAL

The search team divided the forest into four quadrants to ensure they covered every square meter of the terrain.

COMPLEX

In the final stage of the experiment, the researchers observed that the majority of the particles migrated toward the lower-left quadrant of the petri dish within seconds of exposure.

Etymology 1

From Middle English quadrant, from Old French cadran, quadrant and its etymon Latin quadrāns, -antis (“fourth part of something, quarter”). Doublet of quadrans.

Etymology 2

From Middle English quadrant, quadrante, from Latin quadrātum; form influenced by Etymology 1. Doublet of quadrat and quadrate.

Usage

Often paired with ordinal or directional adjectives like 'first', 'second', 'upper', or 'lower'.

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