- [countable + singular or plural verb]
a group of four musicians or singers who play or sing together 四重奏乐团；四重唱组合 the Amadeus Quartet 阿玛迪厄斯四重奏乐队
- [countable]
a piece of music for four musicians or singers 四重奏（曲）；四重唱（曲） a Beethoven string quartet 贝多芬弦乐四重奏曲
- [countable + singular or plural verb]
a set of four people or things 四人组；四件套；四部曲 the last in a quartet of novels 四部曲小说的最后一部
Word Originearly 17th cent. (in the general sense ‘set of four’): from French quartette, from Italian quartetto, from quarto ‘fourth’, from Latin quartus.