Library / English Dictionary

QUARRY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: quarried   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Animal hunted or caught for food

Synonyms:

prey; quarry

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("quarry" is a kind of...):

animal; animate being; beast; brute; creature; fauna (a living organism characterized by voluntary movement)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A surface excavation for extracting stone or slate

Example:

a British term for 'quarry' is 'stone pit'

Synonyms:

pit; quarry; stone pit

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("quarry" is a kind of...):

excavation (a hole in the ground made by excavating)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "quarry"):

chalk pit; chalkpit (a quarry for chalk)

gravel pit (a quarry for gravel)

Derivation:

quarry (extract (something such as stones) from or as if from a quarry)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A person who is the aim of an attack (especially a victim of ridicule or exploitation) by some hostile person or influence

Example:

the target of a manhunt

Synonyms:

fair game; prey; quarry; target

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("quarry" is a kind of...):

victim (an unfortunate person who suffers from some adverse circumstance)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Extract (something such as stones) from or as if from a quarry

Example:

quarry marble

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Hypernyms (to "quarry" is one way to...):

exploit; tap (draw from; make good use of)

"Quarry" entails doing...:

cut into; delve; dig; turn over (turn up, loosen, or remove earth)

Domain category:

quarrying (the extraction of building stone or slate from an open surface quarry)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence examples:

The men quarry the area for animals

The men quarry for animals in the area

Derivation:

quarrier (a man who works in a quarry)

quarry (a surface excavation for extracting stone or slate)

quarrying (the extraction of building stone or slate from an open surface quarry)

Credits

 Context examples: 

She, too, soared high, but not so high as the quarry, and her teeth clipped emptily together with a metallic snap.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

We must, then, on our road again, and I hope from my heart that you may train these two young goshawks here until they are ready for a cast even at such a quarry as you speak of.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Its shrill and piercing cries drew all eyes upon it, and, as it came nearer, a dark spot which circled above it resolved itself into a peregrine falcon, which hovered over its head, poising itself from time to time, and watching its chance of closing with its clumsy quarry.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)