What Is quarter (US)?
The quarter (US) is a traditional unit that measures weight. In the United States it means 25 pounds. Today it is not common in everyday life, but it still appears in old books, farm records, and some trade documents.
Definition
In United States customary units, one quarter is defined as exactly one quarter of a US hundredweight.
- 1 US hundredweight = 100 pounds
- 1 quarter (US) = 1/4 of 100 pounds
- So, 1 quarter (US) = 25 pounds
If you like metric units, this is about:
- 1 quarter (US) ≈ 11.34 kilograms
History / Origin
The idea of the quarter comes from trading goods like grain, flour, and other farm products. Long ago, merchants and farmers often measured things in parts of a hundredweight, so splitting it into four equal parts was easy in daily trade.
In Britain a quarter was based on the imperial hundredweight of 112 pounds, so their quarter was 28 pounds. When the United States fixed its hundredweight at 100 pounds, the American quarter became 25 pounds. Over time, as scales and metric units became more common, the quarter slowly fell out of regular daily use in the US.
Symbol & Abbreviation
The quarter (US) never had one single official symbol that everyone used, but several short forms appeared in trade and bookkeeping.
Common abbreviations include:
- qr
- qtr
- q (less common and can be confusing)
Because these abbreviations can be unclear, modern writing usually spells the unit out as quarter (US) when exact meaning matters.
Current Use Around the World
Today the quarter (US) is mostly a historical or special purpose unit.
In the United States:
- Rarely used in normal shopping or shipping
- May appear in older farm records, livestock weights, or historic grain prices
- Sometimes seen in history books or legal documents that quote old rules
In other countries:
- The British quarter is different, 28 pounds, based on the imperial system
- Most countries now use the metric system, so the quarter is mainly of interest to historians and researchers
Example Conversions
Here are some simple conversions with the quarter (US).
Between quarters and pounds
- 1 quarter (US) = 25 pounds
- 2 quarters (US) = 50 pounds
- 3 quarters (US) = 75 pounds
- 4 quarters (US) = 100 pounds
Between quarters and kilograms
- 1 quarter (US) ≈ 11.34 kg
- 2 quarters (US) ≈ 22.68 kg
- 4 quarters (US) ≈ 45.36 kg
Between quarters and ounces
- 1 pound = 16 ounces
- 1 quarter (US) = 25 pounds × 16 = 400 ounces
- 0.5 quarter (US) = 12.5 pounds = 200 ounces
Quick guides
- To change quarters (US) to pounds, multiply by 25
- To change pounds to quarters (US), divide by 25
- To change quarters (US) to kilograms, multiply by about 11.34
Related Units
The quarter (US) is linked to several other weight units.
- Pound (lb) The basic US unit of weight. One quarter is 25 pounds.
- Hundredweight (US) Equal to 100 pounds. One quarter is 1/4 of a hundredweight.
- Ounce (oz) A small weight unit. There are 16 ounces in a pound, so 400 in a US quarter.
- Ton (US short ton) Equal to 2000 pounds. There are 80 US quarters in a short ton.
- Quarter (imperial) British version of the quarter, equal to 28 pounds, not 25.
- Kilogram (kg) Main metric weight unit. One quarter (US) is about 11.34 kilograms.
FAQs
Q: How many pounds are in 1 quarter (US)?
A: There are exactly 25 pounds in 1 quarter (US).
Q: Is the US quarter the same as the UK or imperial quarter?
A: No. The US quarter is 25 pounds. The imperial quarter used in Britain is 28 pounds, so they are different sizes.
Q: Is the quarter (US) still used today?
A: It is rarely used in everyday life. You may see it in older farm or trade records, or when studying history, but people now mostly use pounds and kilograms.
Q: How do I convert quarters (US) to kilograms?
A: Multiply the number of quarters by about 11.34. For example, 3 quarters (US) ≈ 3 × 11.34 = 34.02 kilograms.
Q: How many US quarters are in a short ton?
A: A US short ton is 2000 pounds. Since 1 quarter (US) is 25 pounds, there are 2000 ÷ 25 = 80 quarters in a short ton.
Q: What is the abbreviation for quarter (US)?
A: There is no single official short form, but qr and qtr are often seen in older records. To avoid confusion, it is safest to write out quarter (US) in full.