ubiquitous
Americanadjective
adjective
Synonym Usage
See omnipresent.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of ubiquitous
First recorded in 1830–40; ubiquit(y) + -ous
Explanation
It's everywhere! It's everywhere! When something seems like it's present in all places at the same time, reach for the adjective ubiquitous. "Cities like Singapore aim to cloak themselves in ubiquitous, free Wi-Fi in the next few years," The Wall Street Journal reported recently — meaning that those savvy Singaporeans will find a wireless connection everywhere they go. The word comes from the Latin ubique, meaning — you guessed it — "everywhere." The usual pronunciation is "yoo-BIK-wih-tihs," but Joseph Heller must have had the older variant "ooh-BIK-wih-tihs" in mind when he wrote in Catch-22 that a character "padded through the shadows fruitlessly like an ubiquitous spook."
Vocabulary lists containing ubiquitous
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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100 Words to Make You Sound Smart
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Vocabulary from "Stop Expecting Games to Build Empathy" by Julie Muncy
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These days, the upsurge in streaming television and its hunger for content has made books an even more ubiquitous source of intellectual property for the small screen.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
They’re ubiquitous across the Western world — an architectural infection spurred by capitalism’ need for generic efficiency borne of economies of scale.
From Salon • Jun. 8, 2026
Exploitation of that combination is now ubiquitous on social media, soaking into the new youth culture.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
Motorbikes are ubiquitous in Hanoi, with nearly seven million used by commuters, families or weighed down by piles of goods, and they outnumber cars roughly seven to one.
From Barron's • May 19, 2026
The ubiquitous experience shown in this New Yorker cartoon is a familiar example: Anyone who wants to lift the curse of knowledge must first appreciate what a devilish curse it is.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
