# universal

Pronunciation: say "yoo-ni-VUR-suhl" US /ˌjunəˈvɜɹs(ə)l/, UK /ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsl̩/

## Adjective

1. Shared by all of society and found or happening throughout the world.
   - Simple: Shared by everyone, all around the world.
   - _The desire for dignity appears to be universal across human cultures._
   - _Access to clean water remains far from universal in many regions._
2. Shared by or applying to every member of a particular group or class.
   - Simple: Shared by every single member of a certain group.
   - _Attendance at the morning meeting is universal among the staff._
   - _A love of fish is nearly universal among the cats in the shelter._
3. Suitable or usable for many different purposes rather than limited to a single task.
   - Simple: Able to be used for many different jobs or purposes.
   - _The kit includes a universal adapter for plugs in different countries._
   - _Mechanics value a universal wrench that adjusts to many bolt sizes._
4. Relating to the universe as a whole, or to all of space and matter.
   - Simple: Connected with the universe and everything in space.
   - _Physicists hope to discover universal constants that hold throughout the cosmos._
   - _The theory describes universal gravitation acting between all bodies in space._
5. Boundless and immeasurably vast, extending without any limit.
   - Simple: Having no limits at all, so huge that it never seems to end.
   - _She felt a universal grief, vast and without any boundary._
   - _The ancient text describes a universal expanse lying beyond all measure._

## Noun

6. A property or feature held in common by many particular things.
   - Simple: A quality or feature that many different things share.
   - _Plato argued that a universal like beauty exists independently of beautiful objects._
   - _Whether universals are real or merely names was a central medieval debate._

## Origin

This comes from Middle English "universal," borrowed from Old French "universal" (modern French "universel"), which came from Latin "ūniversālis." It is equivalent to "universe" plus the suffix "-al."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/universal (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).