quarry
gb/kwˈɔɹi/ us/kwˈɔɹi/
B2
English
~ 9600
kőbánya, préda, keresett személy, fejteni, kincsesbánya, kibányászni, klinkerlap
NOUN
B2
1
kőbánya
B2
Usage pattern:
a quarry for [stone/material]
The village grew up around a large limestone quarry.
A falu egy nagy mészkőbánya körül fejlődött ki.
After the quarry closed, the flooded pit became a popular swimming spot.
Miután bezárt a kőbánya, az elárasztott bányagödör népszerű fürdőhellyé vált.
Safety regulations at the quarry were tightened after the accident.
They source most of their building stone from a local granite quarry.
Dust from the quarry settled on the nearby houses.
Learner examples
Trucks carry stone from the quarry to the city.
Teherautók szállítják a követ a kőbányából a városba.
He got a job at the quarry outside town.
Munkát kapott a városon kívüli kőbányában.
The quarry is very deep and full of water now.
Many houses in this area were built with stone from this quarry.
We walked past an old quarry in the forest.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse "quarry" with "mine". A "quarry" is usually an open area on the surface where stone or rock is cut, while a "mine" often has tunnels underground and is usually for coal or metal ores.
Meaning
open place where stone is dug
Collocations
stone quarry
|rock quarry
|limestone quarry
|abandoned quarry
|open-pit quarry
|quarry workers
Synonyms
pit (A general word for a large hole in the ground; it does not specifically suggest cutting stone for building, while "quarry" usually does.)
Antonyms
landfill (A place where material is dumped into the ground, which contrasts with a quarry, where material is taken out of the ground.)
Themes
industry
|construction
|environment
|work
|science
Definition
An open place in the ground where people cut or break stone or rock to use for building.
An open pit or area in the ground from which stone, rock, sand, or similar materials are cut or blasted for use in building and industry.
NOUN
B2
2
préda
B2
Usage pattern:
[someone]'s quarry
The lion slowly closed in on its quarry.
Az oroszlán lassan egyre közelebb lopakodott a prédájához.
After months of investigation, the police finally caught their quarry.
Hónapokig tartó nyomozás után a rendőrség végre elfogta a keresett személyt.
The detective never took his eyes off his quarry as she crossed the busy street.
The poachers' quarry was a rare species of antelope.
Their quarry managed to slip away in the dark alley.
Learner examples
The wolf watched its quarry from the trees.
A farkas a fák közül figyelte a prédáját.
The police followed their quarry through the train station.
A rendőrség a pályaudvaron át követte a keresett személyt.
The hunters lost sight of their quarry in the fog.
After a long chase, they caught their quarry.
The bird flew high to escape its quarry’s sharp eyes would be wrong; the bird is the quarry in a hunt.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes mix up "quarry" and "hunter" because both can appear in hunting stories. Remember that the "hunter" is the one who chases, and the "quarry" is the animal or person who is chased.
Meaning
animal or person being hunted
Collocations
pursue the quarry
|track the quarry
|lose the quarry
|capture the quarry
|elusive quarry
|corner one's quarry
Synonyms
prey (Commonly used for animals being hunted, especially in nature; it does not as naturally refer to a person in a detective or crime context as "quarry" can.)
Antonyms
hunter (The hunter is the one doing the chasing, while the quarry is the one being chased.)
Themes
hunting
|crime
|conflict
|animals
|nature
Definition
An animal or a person that someone is hunting or chasing to catch.
An animal, bird, or person that is being hunted, chased, or carefully followed in order to be caught or killed.
VERB
C1
TECHNICAL
3
fejteni
B2
Usage pattern:
to quarry [stone/material] from [place]
They have quarried granite from these hills for over a century.
Több mint egy évszázada fejtenek gránitot ezekből a hegyekből.
The company plans to quarry sand from the river valley.
A vállalat homokot tervez fejteni a folyóvölgyben.
Stone was quarried locally to build the castle walls.
Workers are quarrying slate from the steep hillside.
The site cannot be quarried until the environmental study is complete.
Learner examples
They quarry stone from the mountain.
Követ fejtenek a hegyből.
The builders quarried rock for the new bridge.
Az építők követ fejtettek az új hídhoz.
For many years, people quarried marble in this area.
The company wants to quarry more stone from this land.
Men are quarrying limestone near the village.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use "quarry" as a general verb for any kind of digging. It is normally used only when you are taking stone, rock, or similar material from a quarry, not when you are just digging soil or making a small hole.
Meaning
to take stone from a quarry
Collocations
quarry stone
|quarry marble
|quarry limestone
|quarry slate
Synonyms
mine (Can also mean removing minerals or stone from the ground, but often suggests underground work or extraction of coal or metal rather than cutting building stone at the surface.)
Antonyms
backfill (To fill a hole or excavation with earth again, which is the opposite of removing material from it.)
Themes
industry
|construction
|work
|science
Definition
To cut or break stone or rock out of the ground in a quarry.
To cut, break, or blast stone, rock, or similar material from a quarry, especially for use in building.
NOUN
C1
FORMAL
4
kincsesbánya
B2
Usage pattern:
a quarry of [information/ideas/examples]
The archive is a rich quarry of information for social historians.
A levéltár valóságos kincsesbánya a társadalomtörténészek számára.
Her notebooks proved a valuable quarry of ideas for the new book.
A jegyzetei értékes ötletforrásnak bizonyultak az új könyvhöz.
Old newspapers are a quarry of examples for language researchers.
The internet has become an endless quarry for curious minds.
For biographers, family letters are often a key quarry of detail.
Learner examples
This library is a rich quarry of information for my project.
Ez a könyvtár a projektemhez szükséges információk valóságos kincsesbányája.
Old books can be a quarry of ideas for writers.
A régi könyvek az írók számára valóságos kincsesbányák lehetnek.
The newspaper is a quarry of examples for my English teacher.
These files are a quarry of facts about the company’s history.
For students, the internet is a big quarry of information.
Common mistake:
Because this use is metaphorical, learners may think it always sounds natural. In everyday speech, people more often say "good source of information" than "rich quarry of information"; the "quarry" expression is more formal or literary.
Meaning
source that yields many things
Collocations
a rich quarry of information
|a rich quarry of ideas
|a quarry for historians
|a quarry of examples
Synonyms
source (A very general word for where something comes from; it does not include the extra idea of hard work to take things out, which "quarry" suggests.)
Antonyms
desert (Used figuratively for a place with almost nothing to offer, the opposite of a "quarry" that yields many useful things.)
Themes
knowledge
|research
|education
|communication
Definition
A place or thing where you can find and take a lot of useful information or ideas if you look carefully.
A source that can provide a large amount of something valuable, especially information, ideas, or examples, usually when someone works hard to find or extract it.
VERB
C2
FORMAL
5
kibányászni
C1
Usage pattern:
to quarry [information/data] from [source]
Researchers quarried data from thousands of patient records.
A kutatók több ezer betegnyilvántartásból bányásztak ki adatokat.
The journalist quarried details from old court documents.
Az újságíró régi bírósági iratokból bányászta ki a részleteket.
They quarried evidence from the company’s internal emails.
Historians have quarried these letters for insights into daily life.
Much of the report was quarried from government statistics.
Learner examples
The student quarried information from many old books.
A diák sok régi könyvből bányászott ki információkat.
Scientists quarried data from the hospital’s computer system.
A tudósok a kórház számítógépes rendszeréből bányásztak ki adatokat.
He quarried facts from old newspapers for his article.
They quarried details from the company’s files.
The writer quarried ideas from her travel notes.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use "quarry" where simple verbs like "get" or "find" are more natural. "Quarry" in this sense is usually used in formal or written English, often in academic or journalistic texts.
Meaning
to dig out information or facts
Collocations
quarry information from
|quarry data from
|quarry statistics from
|quarry details from
|quarry evidence from
Synonyms
extract (A common neutral verb for taking information out of something; it does not carry the strong image of hard, repeated effort that "quarry" suggests.)
Antonyms
ignore (To pay no attention to information, which contrasts with carefully searching for and taking it out.)
Themes
knowledge
|research
|education
|communication
Definition
To get information or ideas by reading or looking through a lot of documents or data very carefully.
To obtain facts, information, or ideas by searching carefully and persistently through a large amount of material, such as documents, data, or texts.
NOUN
C1
6
klinkerlap
C1
Usage pattern:
quarry tiles on [a floor]
The kitchen floor was laid with red quarry tiles.
A konyha padlóját vörös klinkerlapokkal burkolták.
Cold quarry tiles ran the length of the hallway.
Hideg klinkerlapok borították a folyosó teljes hosszát.
They chose quarry tiles for the patio because they are durable.
The old farmhouse still has its original quarry tile floor.
Mud from the garden is easy to clean off the quarry tiles.
Learner examples
The floor is made of red quarry tiles.
A padló vörös klinkerlapokkal van kirakva.
They put quarry tiles in the new kitchen.
Klinkerlapokat raktak le az új konyhában.
Quarry tiles are hard and easy to clean.
We walked across the cold quarry tiles in bare feet.
The old house has quarry tiles in the hall.
Common mistake:
Learners may think "quarry" always means the place where stone is taken from. In interior design, "quarry tiles" are a type of floor tile, not the pit itself.
Meaning
square stone or clay floor tile
Collocations
quarry tiles
|quarry tile floor
|red quarry tiles
|terracotta quarry tiles
Synonyms
tile (A more general word for a thin, flat piece of baked clay, stone, or other material; "quarry" usually refers to thicker, more rustic tiles for floors.)
Antonyms
carpet (A soft fabric floor covering, contrasting with the hard, tiled surface of quarry tiles.)
Themes
home
|construction
|housing
|core_vocabulary
Definition
A strong, square tile made from stone or baked clay that is used for floors.
A hard, flat, usually square tile of stone or fired clay, often slightly rough, used especially for floors in kitchens, halls, and outdoor areas.
Grammar
Dictionary form
quarry
IPA
GB/kwˈɔɹi/
US/kwˈɔɹi/
Syllables & stress
quarry (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (quarry)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: quarry
- Plural: quarries
Verb
- Base: quarry
- 3rd Person Singular: quarries
- Present Participle: quarrying
- Past: quarried
Word family
Forms
quarries
noun
quarrying
verb
quarried
verb
Related words
quarrier
noun
Expressions
a rich quarry of [something]
1/ə ɹˈɪt͡ʃ kwˈɔɹi əv sˈʌmθɪŋ/
idiom
formal
abundant source of information or ideas
A place, person, or thing that can give you a lot of information, ideas, or examples if you look carefully.
Examples
- The archive is a rich quarry of historical detail.
- Her diaries are a rich quarry of material for any future biographer.
stone quarry
1/stˈoʊn kwˈɔɹi/
fixed phrase
quarry used to get stone
A place in the ground where people cut or break stone to use for building.
Examples
- The town expanded quickly after the stone quarry opened.
- Many local men work at the stone quarry outside the village.