noun, plural -ries, verb, -ried, -ry⋅ing.| 1. | an excavation or pit, usually open to the air, from which building stone, slate, or the like, is obtained by cutting, blasting, etc. |
| 2. | an abundant source or supply. |
| 3. | to obtain (stone) from or as if from a quarry. |
| 4. | to make a quarry in. |

l, kwor-]
| 1. | a square-headed bolt or arrow, formerly used with a crossbow. |
| 2. | Also, quarry. a small, square or diamond-shaped pane of glass, as used in latticed windows. |
| 3. | any of various tools with pyramidal heads. |

quarry
place where dimension stone or aggregate (sand, gravel, crushed rock) is mined. The products of dimension stone quarries are prismatic blocks of rock such as marble, granite, limestone, sandstone, and slate. After cutting and polishing, these materials are used in the primary construction of buildings and monuments and also for decorative facing materials applied to the exterior and interior of buildings. Dimension stones are extracted in a highly selective manner, using time-consuming and expensive methods for freeing the blocks from the surrounding rock
Learn more about quarry with a free trial on Britannica.com.