quadrant
quadrant — noun
- quadrantsingular
- quadrantsplural
1. Any of the four matching wedge-shaped sections produced when a full circle is sp
Any of the four matching wedge-shaped sections produced when a full circle is split by two straight lines that cross at the centre, each spanning exactly 90°.
Sumin traced a quadrant of the circle using a compass for her geometry homework.
trace a quadrant + compass to draw a 90° arc
Each quadrant of the round table has a different wood pattern.
Each quadrant of [round object] + different [feature]
The pizza was cut into quadrants, and Owen took the slice with the most cheese.
A quadrant of the stained-glass window showed a blue whale diving through waves.
Zayd carved a wooden quadrant to demonstrate the 90-degree angle in his maths project.
用法筆記
A quadrant always refers to exactly one-fourth of a circle; use quarter for any other kind of fourth part.
常見錯誤
2. One of the four sections created when a space, surface, or body part is split by
One of the four sections created when a space, surface, or body part is split by two imaginary perpendicular lines, used especially in medicine to describe the abdomen and in geography to organize maps or districts.
The doctor gently pressed the lower-right quadrant of Shanti's abdomen and asked if it hurt.
anatomical quadrant: lower-right quadrant of the abdomen
Hyun divided the whiteboard into four quadrants for the brainstorming session.
divide into quadrants for organizing
The hospital map marked each quadrant of the building with a different colour.
Adina felt a dull pain in the upper-left quadrant of her back after flying.
The city planners split the district into quadrants for garbage collection.
用法筆記
Anatomical quadrants are always four — upper right, upper left, lower right, and lower left — with the navel as the centre point.
常見錯誤
3. A historical instrument with a 90° graduated arc, formerly used by sailors and a
A historical instrument with a 90° graduated arc, formerly used by sailors and astronomers to measure how far above the horizon the sun, moon, or stars appear, helping to determine latitude at sea.
The sailor held the brass quadrant steady and read the sun's angle.
held + brass quadrant + read the angle
Marine archaeologists found a bronze quadrant on the sunken ship near Crete.
found a [metal] quadrant on [ship/place]
Tunde watched a documentary about how a quadrant helped early explorers cross the Pacific.
The museum guide explained that the quadrant was the main navigation tool before the sextant.
Eve tried using a replica quadrant to calculate the height of her school building.
用法筆記
Quadrants are now considered obsolete; modern navigation uses GPS and sextants. This sense appears mainly in historical or museum contexts.
常見錯誤
4. Each of the four numbered regions formed on a flat coordinate grid by two straig
Each of the four numbered regions formed on a flat coordinate grid by two straight number lines, the x-axis and y-axis, crossing at a right angle; used to describe where a plotted point falls.
Vivek plotted the point (-2, 5) in the second quadrant of the graph paper.
plot [coordinates] in the [ordinal] quadrant
The teacher numbered each quadrant on the coordinate grid from one to four.
quadrant on the coordinate grid
Points where both coordinates are negative belong to the third quadrant.
The robot's path crossed through all four quadrants of the map.
Jason drew a circle centred at the origin that touched all four quadrants.
用法筆記
Quadrants are numbered counter-clockwise from the top-right section: first (+,+), second (−,+), third (−,−), fourth (+,−).