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Definition of quarry


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quar·ry 2  audio  (kwôr, kwr) KEY  

NOUN:
pl. quar·ries
  1. An open excavation or pit from which stone is obtained by digging, cutting, or blasting.
  2. A rich or productive source: found the book an indispensable quarry of information.
TRANSITIVE VERB:
quar·ried , quar·ry·ing , quar·ries
  1. To obtain (stone) from a quarry, as by cutting, digging, or blasting.
  2. To extract (facts, for example) by long, careful searching: finally quarried out the genealogy from hundreds of sources.
  3. To use (land) as a quarry.

ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English quarey, from Medieval Latin quareria, quareia, alteration of Old French quarriere, from *quarre, cut stone, from Latin quadrum, square; see kwetwer- in Indo-European roots

OTHER FORMS:
quarri·er (Noun)


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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition.
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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