quartile

noun

quar·​tile ˈkwȯr-ˌtī(-ə)l 

-tᵊl

: any of the three values that divide the items of a frequency distribution into four classes with each containing one fourth of the total population

also : any one of the four classes

Did you know?

A quartile is a quarter of a specific group that has been tested or evaluated in specific ways. The first quartile is the one that scores highest and the fourth quartile scores lowest. For achievement and proficiency tests, the first quartile is the place to be; for blood pressure or cholesterol, the third quartile is healthier.

Examples of quartile in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

One study found that diverse teams make better decisions 87% of the time, while McKinsey research shows that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams are 21% more likely to be profitable. —Shelley Zalis, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025

The total returns over the trailing one-, three-, five-, 10- and 15-year periods have been in the top quartile of its peer group, per Morningstar. —Michelle Fox, CNBC, 6 Dec. 2024

Green Bay is No. 5 in the league in yards per play margin and DVOA, and the Lions pass defense has been suspect at times while ranking in the lower quartile of the league allowing 226 passing yards per game. —Jay Ginsbach, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024

And the majority of firms in the top quartile were unable to sustain superior growth performance for more than a few years. —Gary P. Pisano, Harvard Business Review, 21 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary, from Latin quartus

First Known Use

1879, in the meaning defined above