Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - quarry

(quarries, quarrying, quarried) 1. A quarry is an area that is dug out from a piece of land or the side of a mountain in order to get stone or minerals. ...an old limestone quarry. N-COUNT 2. When stone or minerals are quarried or when an area is quarried for them, they are removed from the area by digging, drilling, or using explosives. The large limestone caves are also quarried for cement. ...locally quarried stone. VERB: be V-ed, V-ed • quarrying Farming, quarrying and other local industries have declined. N-UNCOUNT 3. A person’s or animal’s quarry is the person or animal that they are hunting. N-SING