ubiquitous

adjective

ubiq·​ui·​tous yü-ˈbi-kwə-təs How to pronounce ubiquitous (audio)
: existing or being everywhere at the same time : constantly encountered : widespread
a ubiquitous fashion
ubiquitously adverb
ubiquitousness noun

Did you know?

Ubiquitous comes to us from the noun ubiquity, meaning "presence everywhere or in many places simultaneously." Both words are ultimately derived from the Latin word for "everywhere," which is ubiqueUbiquitous, which has often been used with a touch of exaggeration to describe those things that it seems like you can't go a day without encountering, has become a more widespread and popular word than ubiquity. It may not quite be ubiquitous, but if you keep your eyes and ears open, you're apt to encounter the word ubiquitous quite a bit.

Examples of ubiquitous in a Sentence

Hot dogs are the ideal road trip food—inexpensive, portable, ubiquitous. Paul Lucas, Saveur, June/July 2008
Shawarma is the new street meat. Both a late night favourite and a quick lunch classic, the Middle Eastern dish is now ubiquitous on the streets of Toronto. Chris Dart, Torontoist, 8 Feb. 2007
In major league locker rooms, ice packs are ubiquitous appendages for pitchers, who wrap their shoulder or elbow or both, the better to calm muscles, ligaments and tendons that have been stressed by the unnatural act of throwing a baseball. Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated, 26 Mar. 2007
It was before the day of the ubiquitous automobile. Given one of those present adjuncts to farm life, John would have ended his career much earlier. As it was, they found him lying by the roadside at dawn one morning after the horses had trotted into the yard with the wreck of the buggy bumping the road behind them. Edna Ferber, "Farmer in the Dell," 1919, in One Basket1949
The company's advertisements are ubiquitous. by that time cell phones had become ubiquitous, and people had long ceased to be impressed by the sight of one See More
Recent Examples on the Web Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 22 Nov. 2023 The allure of female youth is so culturally ubiquitous that a filmmaker’s examining it from the inside out can be a defamiliarizing exercise. Molly Fischer, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023 But support for the military campaign itself is seemingly so ubiquitous that a question about it is rarely, if ever, asked in such opinion surveys. Alexander Smith, NBC News, 6 Nov. 2023 Poster Activism: In the weeks since the start of the conflict, fliers depicting the hostages have become ubiquitous. Ronen Bergman, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2023 Wilson is the reigning champ in this category, and seemed to be ubiquitous this year, thanks to heavy touring, a trio of songs surging up the charts, awards show appearances and a campaign with Wrangler. Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 6 Nov. 2023 Uber and Lyft have become ubiquitous in New York, with the easy to use ride-hailing apps largely supplanting the city’s iconic yellow taxi cabs. Anthony Izaguirre, Fortune, 2 Nov. 2023 Electric scooters are ubiquitous now, cavalierly and awkwardly piled up on street corners of any global metropolitan center, serving as last-mile solutions for those unwilling to wait in traffic in the backseat of a rideshare car. Kevin Williams, Ars Technica, 1 Nov. 2023 At the sawmill Most single-family homes in North America are wood-frame construction featuring the ubiquitous two-by-four. William Booth, Washington Post, 31 Oct. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ubiquitous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

see ubiquity

First Known Use

1772, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ubiquitous was in 1772

Dictionary Entries Near ubiquitous

Cite this Entry

“Ubiquitous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ubiquitous. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

ubiquitous

adjective
ubiq·​ui·​tous yu̇-ˈbik-wət-əs How to pronounce ubiquitous (audio)
: existing or being everywhere at the same time : constantly encountered : widespread
a ubiquitous fashion
ubiquitously adverb
ubiquitousness noun
ubiquity
-wət-ē
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on ubiquitous

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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