What does quadruplet mean?
Quadruplet is a noun most commonly used for one of four babies born at the same birth, or for the four babies as a group. The word has strong associations with rare multiple births, family life, and the practical and emotional challenges of caring for four newborns, so it often carries a sense of remarkability. In a broader or literary context, it can refer to any arranged group of four. Music provides a separate technical meaning: a quadruplet is a group of four notes performed in the time usually occupied by three, compressing or dividing the beat in a particular way. Although quartet may also refer to a group of four, quadruplet is the more specific and familiar term when discussing four children born together. Its compact formation and direct association with the number four make it especially memorable in public and family contexts.
nounOne of four children born at the same birth, or a group of four such children. In music, a quadruplet is four notes played in the time normally occupied by three.
- One of four children born at the same birth.
- A group of four children born at the same birth.
- In music, four notes played in the time normally occupied by three.
"The documentary follows the lives of quadruplets born at the same time and raised as a close-knit group."
"Her first pregnancy produced quadruplets, each born weighing less than two pounds."
"The composer opened the piece with a rapid quadruplet in the piano part."
Used for four babies born at the same birth, either individually as “one of the quadruplets” or collectively as “the quadruplets.”
"The quadruplets celebrated their twentieth birthday together."
Four babies, one delivery: a quadruplet captures both the individual child and the remarkable group of four.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does quadruplet come from?
The word entered English through French quadruplet, from the Latin family of quadri- and quadrupl-, associated with four or fourfold. English quadruplet initially developed in the sense of a member or group of four, a use that later became especially associated with multiple births. Its relatives quadruple, quadruplicate, and quadruped reflect the same wider Latin tradition of words expressing fourfoldness or the number four.
Related word forms
How quadruplet is actually used
As a noun, quadruplet is countable and takes the plural quadruplets. The word is strongly associated with multiple births, although it can also be used more broadly for a set of four. Its musical sense is specialized.
Easily confused with quadruplet
A quadruplet usually refers to one of four babies born together or to the four babies themselves, whereas a quartet more commonly denotes a group of four performers or any miscellaneous group of four.