每刻 (měi kè) literally means 'each quarter-hour' — a traditional Chinese time unit where one hour is divided into four equal parts, each lasting 15 minutes. The character 每 (měi) means 'every' or 'each', and 刻 (kè) historically refers to a 15-minute interval, derived from ancient water clocks that marked time in quarter-hour increments. Though less common in modern spoken Mandarin than phrases like 每十五分钟 (every 15 minutes), 每刻 appears in formal schedules, historical texts, or poetic contexts to evoke precision and rhythm.

This term carries a slightly literary or refined tone and is rarely used in casual daily speech. It may appear in announcements (e.g., train departures), classical poetry, or descriptions of disciplined routines — such as meditation sessions timed '每刻' to mark transitions between stages. Learners should recognize it as a fixed time expression, not a compound verb or adjective, and avoid misreading 刻 as 'carve' (its more common meaning) in this context.