quads

Noun

quad (plural quads)

1. (obsolete) A blank metal block used to fill short lines of type.
   • “Quadrats, sir. We call 'em quads.” […] Quads are the spaces left between the paragraphs that come white on the paper. If you look here, at this page that is set-up, you will see that they are deeper than the spaces left between the words and letters—regular little trenches.1853 April 16, Charles Dickens, Household Words, number 160, page 148

   Synonyms:

   em quad, em space, quadrat

2. (obsolete, slang) A joke used to fill long days of setting type.
3. (obsolete, phototypesetting and digital typesetting) A keyboard command which aligns text with the left or right margin, or centred between them. In combination, as quad left, quad right, or quad centre.
4. (informal) A quadrangle (quadrangular courtyard).
   • Gilt-backed books on gilded shelf or table caught the eye, and as you turned your glance from the luxurious interiors to the well-shorn lawn in the Quad with its classic fountain also gilded by sunbeams, the mental vision saw plainly written over the whole "The Union of Luxury and Learning."1880, William Blades, The Enemies of Books, page 38
5. (colloquial, dated) A horse, from colloquial or humorous quadruped specifically for horse.
   • The quads is all right, barrin’ that the bay is blind o’ the left eye, and the chestnut a bit weak in the off fore.1934, John Buchan, The Free Fishers, page 258
6. A poster advertising a cinematic film release, measuring forty by thirty inches, four times the area of crown paper.

See all 32 meanings of quad

Noun

quadrobics (uncountable)

1. Physical actions, movements, and exercises performed by an individual on all fours to mimic those of an animal.

   Synonyms:

   quads