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Glite Dictionary
quarter pound

quarter pound

2 1.8
A weight equal to one quarter of a pound or four ounces
  • noun
  • /ˈkwɔrtər paʊnd/
translation icon : cuarto de libra
  • Give me a quarter pound of that nice tender liver.

Examples

  • Give me a quarter pound of that nice tender liver.

  • Uncle Fred was someone I saw at weddings and funerals and once in a while at Giovichinni's Meat Market, ordering a quarter pound of olive loaf.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Ah, and a quarter pound of Genoa salami.

    Just Looking (1999)

  • A quarter pound of Genoa salami.

    Just Looking (1999)

  • There are four sticks in a pound of butter, so each is a quarter-pound.

    Blog text (20)

  • I bought some batteries I didn't really need, a quarter-pound of sliced turkey breast, and a package of frozen okra.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Their purchases stowed in a loopy plastic bag, they walked the mall to the candy counter, where Mr. Boudreaux bought a quarter-pound of lime slices.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • I need just a quarter pound of lean ground beef.

  • And then, we use a quarter pound of pepper jack cheese.

Surface Forms

quarter pound singular
quarter pounds plural

Morphology

quarter + pound

The meaning 'a quarter of a pound' is directly and compositionally derived from 'quarter' (a fourth) + 'pound' (a unit of weight). This fraction+unit construction is transparent and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will understand the MWE.

Etymology

Quarter pound The noun quarter pound comes from simple weighing: it is literally a quarter, that is one fourth, of a pound, so it names a small amount of weight. That's why quarter pound means 'a unit of weight equal to 4 ounces' and is often used for food portions like burgers.