First recorded in 1845–55; from Chinese qì “breath, air, spirit, gas”
The word qi may be little, but boy is it energetic. In fact, qi stands for the energy in everything. (It's also a handy word to know in Scrabble.) In Chinese philosophy, qi, also spelled chi or ch'i, is the life force that every person, plant, animal, and thing — including inanimate objects — has. Chinese medicine and acupuncture both address the concept of qi; if you're feeling a little under the weather, an unbalanced qi may be the culprit. The concept is also used in the martial arts: If you've ever practiced tai chi, then you're already familiar with qi, just with a different spelling.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For her Narcissus catchall, she applied the loose gestures of Chinese brush painting to metal sculpture to encapsulate the object’s qi, or vital energy.
From Seattle Times ● May 28, 2024
Every so often these shocks to the system are tremendously welcome: a way to clear the mind, heart and qi, even if the dry sauna is filled with groaning men in a midlife trance.
From New York Times ● Mar. 16, 2024
The classes are donation-based, and we congregate, each week with different community members, in sync, for an hour to balance, restore and generate our qi.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2023
The movements help with blood circulation and the body’s meridians — which in Chinese medicine refer to the pathways that energy, or qi, flows through.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2023
It is used when the material is either dense or defuse; e.g., qi no naca ni 'in the wood,' fito no naca ni 'among the men.'
From Diego Collado's Grammar of the Japanese Language by Spear, Richard L.
Qi says: "It helps to solve technical problems because customers don't know how to code the robots."
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
H. Jerry Qi, professor of mechanical engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, also collaborated on the project.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 6, 2026
INF was founded by Qi Yuan, a professor who heads an AI institute at Shanghai’s prestigious Fudan University.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2025
As part of the witness statements, Collins referred to the alleged meeting between Berry, the teacher, and Qi.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025
Across the yard I saw Principal Long, Wang Qi, and the two boys coming out of the gym.
From "Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution" by Ji-li Jiang
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.
