Definition of quarry

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quar·ry²    (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.

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

OTHER FORMS:
quarri·er(Noun)