quarry Hear it!

quarry¹ Definition

quarry (kwôr′ē, kwär′ē)

noun pl. -·ries

a square or diamond-shaped piece of glass, tile, etc.

Etymology: var. of quarrel

quarry² Definition

quarry (kwôr′ē, kwär′ē)

noun pl. -·ries

  1. an animal that is being hunted down, esp. with dogs or hawks; prey
  2. anything being hunted or pursued

Etymology: ME querre, orig., parts of the prey put on the hide and fed to dogs < OFr cuiree, altered (infl. by cuir, a hide) < ML *corata, viscera < L cor, heart

quarry³ Definition

quarry (kwôr′ē, kwär′ē)

noun pl. -·ries

a place where building stone, marble, or slate is excavated, as by cutting or blasting

Etymology: ME quarey < ML quarreia, contr. of quarreria, quadraria, lit., place where stones are squared < L quadrare, to square: see quadrate

transitive verb -·ried, -·ry·ing

  1. to excavate from a quarry
  2. to make a quarry in (land)

quarry Synonyms

quarry

n.

  1. A mine

    excavation, shaft, vein, lode; see mine 1.

  2. The hunted

    game, chase, prey; see victim 1.

quarry Usage Examples

Object

  • limestone: The church which rose from the ashes was built from locally quarried magnesium limestone and heavily restored in the nineteenth century.
  • sandstone: Lazonby is predominantly built of the hard red sandstone quarried on Lazonby Fell.

Converse of object

  • reopen: Not until the late 10th century were quarries reopened for the extraction of fresh, unused building material.
  • abandon: On Wednesday we had arranged to go climbing and abseiling at an abandoned slate quarry.
  • hunt: Hunting live quarry with hounds is a controversial subject in the UK at present.

Adjective modifier

  • disused: The disused quarry is on the right hand side.
  • abandoned: Abandoned quarries common with possibility of affecting water quality Woodlands Woodlands occupy just over 8 % of land cover in this LCA.
  • nearby: In the early 1800s they rebuilt much of the village, in part to house workers for the nearby slate quarries.
  • elusive: It becomes necessary to follow the tracks of the elusive quarry wherever they may lead.

Modifies a noun

  • tile: Problem is some of the black adhesive from the vinyl tiles is stuck firmly onto the quarry tiles.
  • pit: The National Trust now own the nearby headland, Sandsend Ness, where there is a delightful nature trail in the old quarry pits.
  • species: An accurate shot with minimal disruption to the quarry species is unlikely to cause poor welfare.
  • hunting: Drag Hunting Drag hunting could not replace live quarry hunting.

Noun used with modifier

  • slate: The Wynne slate quarry opened in 1750 followed by a larger concern, the Cambrian Slate Company, which was formed in 1854.
  • limestone: Dudley's limestone quarries were closed in the 1920s.
  • freestone: There is no record of when it began, but in the 1850s it became the largest freestone quarry in Peeblesshire.
  • ironstone: Most of the interest centered on the various ironstone quarries.
  • whinstone: A former whinstone quarry on the line of Hadrian's Wall and the Pennine Way which has been developed for recreation and wildlife.
  • gravel: We had lunch on the move and stopped by the gravel quarry before White Mills Lock.

Preposition: of

limestone: Description The activity is a role-play exercise examining issues related to the quarrying of limestone in an area of outstanding natural beauty.