universe

American  

[yoo-nuh-vurs] / ˈju nəˌvɜrs /

noun

• universes
  plural

1. the universe. the totality of known or supposed objects and phenomena throughout space; the cosmos; macrocosm.

2. the whole world, especially with reference to humanity.

   a truth known throughout the universe.

3. a world or sphere in which something exists or prevails.

   his private universe.

4. in New Age philosophy and popular culture, a divine but nonpersonal being, consciousness, or field of energy believed to connect everything that is, allowing the interaction of the physical with the spiritual and thought with reality.

5. Also called universe of discourse. Logic. the aggregate of all the objects, attributes, and relations assumed or implied in a given discussion.

6. Also called universal set. Mathematics. the set of all elements under discussion for a given problem.

7. Statistics. the entire population under study.

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universe British  

/ ˈjuːnɪˌvɜːs /

noun

1. astronomy the aggregate of all existing matter, energy, and space

2. human beings collectively

3. a province or sphere of thought or activity

4. statistics another word for population

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universe Scientific  

/ yo̅o̅′nə-vûrs′ /

1. The totality of matter, energy, and space, including the Solar System, the galaxies, and the contents of the space between the galaxies. Current theories of cosmology suggest that the universe is constantly expanding.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subuniverse
  noun
• superuniverse
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• universes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of universe

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Old French univers, from Latin ūniversum, noun use of neuter of ūniversus “all, entire,” literally, “turned into one,” from ūni- uni- + versus “turned” (past participle of vertere “to turn”)

Explanation

Universe is a big word — in fact, it includes all matter and all of space. We can't see or know much about the outer limits of the universe, but we know that it has them, and the idea of matter contained within boundaries gives us other meanings for the word. You might refer to a "universe of ideas," or when conducting a scientific study, create "a universe of data." Universe can also mean a defined set of something — the five blocks between the playground and home can be the whole universe for a small child.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

universe universes

She will once again be joined by Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams and Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, while several new faces are entering the “Wednesday” universe.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026

Those two forms of matter should then have annihilated one another, leaving behind energy rather than the matter-filled universe we see today.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026

These firms work behind the scenes to piece together credit-card programs that are typically outside the large bank universe, providing customer service and gathering funding to make card originations possible.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

There’s an alternate universe where Taylor Tomlinson is a young adult fantasy author holed up in a cabin miles from civilization.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Dad said, smiling like he thought he got me the greatest present in the whole universe.

From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

“The goal here has always been to create these immersive universes, to really bring consumers in and engage with Disney characters.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

He studied physics and philosophy at the University of Oxford, where he met his wife, devoured Einstein’s original papers and investigated parallel universes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

For Gallo and his team of Aditya Aney, Tao Pan and William Koor, “both the AI and private credit universes face significant volatility.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

The process begins with scientists generating large numbers of simulated universes based on physical models.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 29, 2026

In universes whose dark-energy value is much smaller, the repulsive push changes to an attractive pull, causing those universes to collapse back on themselves so quickly that again galaxies wouldn’t form.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker