Q
noun
the 17th letter of the English alphabet, a consonant.
Q
1 American
[kyoo]
/ kju /
Or
q
noun
-
Q's,
plural
-
Qs,
plural
-
q's,
plural
-
qs
plural
-
the 17th letter of the English alphabet, a consonant.
-
any spoken sound represented by the letter Q or q, as in quick, acquit, or Iraq.
-
something having the shape of a Q .
-
a written or printed representation of the letter Q or q.
-
a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter Q or q.
Q
2
American
Q
3
American
Symbol.
-
the 17th in order or in a series.
-
(sometimes lowercase) the medieval Roman numeral for 500.
-
Biochemistry. glutamine.
-
Physics. heat.
-
Thermodynamics. a unit of heat energy, equal to 10 18 British thermal units (1.055 × 10 21 joules).
-
Also called Q-factor. Electronics. the ratio of the reactance to the resistance of an electric circuit or component.
-
Biblical Criticism. the symbol for material common to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke that was not derived from the Gospel of Mark.
q.
4
American
abbreviation
q.
5
American
abbreviation
-
quart; quarts.
-
query.
-
question.
-
quintal.
-
quire.
Q.
6
American
abbreviation
-
quarto.
-
Quebec.
-
Queen.
-
question.
-
(in Guatemala) quetzal; quetzals.
Q
1
British
symbol
-
chess queen
-
question
-
physics heat
abbreviation
Q.
2
British
abbreviation
-
quartermaster
-
Also: q. quarto
-
Queen
-
question
q.
3
British
abbreviation
-
quart
-
quarter
-
quarterly
q
4
British
/ kjuː /
noun
-
the 17th letter and 13th consonant of the modern English alphabet
-
a speech sound represented by this letter, in English usually a voiceless velar stop, as in unique and quick
q
5
British
symbol
q
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of q.
From the Latin word quadrāns
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.
See Examples For:
While Q stopped posting in 2022, the movement did not disappear.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
Although there were Danish versions of several Department Q books, he was keen to make the first big-budget English language version.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Through this partnership, robot delivery is now available to nearly 200 local restaurants, including Sushi Q, the Indian Kitchen and Mel & Rose.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Q: My passport doesn’t have a biometric chip.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Q: What is the best way to relieve earaches caused by changes in cabin pressure?
From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
This same relationship between E. q. quadrivittatus and the subspecies of E. umbrinus that occurs in north-central Colorado was pointed out in the account of E. q. quadrivittatus.
From Taxonomy of the Chipmunks, Eutamias quadrivittatus and Eutamias umbrinus by John A. White
I'll stay around here on the q. t. long enough to see the fun, and then it's me quietly out.
From The Lash by Olin L. Lyman
Remarks.—Specimens from the Chuska Mountains, Zuni Mountains, and Blanco, New Mexico, are intergrades between E. q. quadrivittatus and E. q. hopiensis, but are referable to E. q. quadrivittatus.
From Taxonomy of the Chipmunks, Eutamias quadrivittatus and Eutamias umbrinus by John A. White
Tuob, gold, probably akin to hobin, q. v.
From The Arawack Language of Guiana in its Linguistic and Ethnological Relations by Daniel Garrison Brinton
Rhei opt. aa. ℈i. ol. junip. gutt. xvi. syr. bals. q. s. f. mass. in pil. xxiv. divid.
From An Account of the Foxglove and some of its Medical Uses With Practical Remarks on Dropsy and Other Diseases by William Withering
It’s one thing to have John Q. Public, who reads and watches certain news outlets where you’ve appeared, mistake you for someone else.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025
Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the fired Joint Chiefs chairman, is the second Black general to serve in the role.
From Slate ● Feb. 25, 2025
Signs of bird flu in cats include runny nose and discharge around the eyes, explained Michael Q. Bailey, president-elect of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
From Salon ● Feb. 12, 2025
He greeted the crowd and soon joined Mr. Krinsky for a Q. and A. that the chief executive figured would be light and breezy.
From New York Times ● May 26, 2024
Q. What year are you in school and where are you going to college?
From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner
The Fed Board in Washington oversees supervision of large regional banks like SVB, and Fed Vice Chair Michael Barr is undertaking a review of what went wrong to be published on May q.
From Reuters ● Apr. 12, 2023
The letters q, p, d and b are all shaped identically but rotated, and some have argued serifs make them easier to identify.
From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2023
Both the magnitude and direction of the Coulomb force field depend on Q and the test charge q .
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
But we do know that, since F = qE , the work, and hence ΔPE , is proportional to the test charge q.
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
I used a generic photograph of q mallard for reference, but Uncle Phil doesn’t need to know that.
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
Q’s posts also stopped, leaving many followers adrift.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2025
“Ballard” is a sharp reversal from Q’s last series — the 2024 Fox comedy “Pivoting,” about three close-knit women who are trying to cope with the death of another friend.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2025
The court has adjourned Q's case, saying this would allow it to be involved again if necessary.
From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2024
Just across the parking lot from Station Q’s new office, a third kind of Majorana hunt is underway.
From Science Magazine ● Dec. 20, 2023
“My prom prospects are so poor that Q’s grandma turned me down. She said she was waiting for Radar to ask her.”
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
Here, he takes an opportunity to respond publicly to a few Qs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
"We've got a whole line of Qs doing really cool stuff in the tech space who are women," he said.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2024
Since the doors to the theater first swung open, it’d been made clear that everyone needed to mind their Ps and Qs.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 6, 2023
Your Qs aren’t hard, but when you’re obnoxious, we answer other reporters’ Qs.”
From Washington Times ● Jan. 24, 2020
Some Os and Qs and Cs long and narrow.
From "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia
Viewed this way, minding our p’s and q’s is less about proscriptive notions of correctness, and more about mindfulness, self-discovery and proper conduct.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 7, 2023
Being aware of how to mind your p's and q's in each of those places is essential to getting by or possibly moving up in the world.
From Salon ● Nov. 24, 2022
For parents worried that virtual assistants are encouraging bad manners in children, it’ll be a good way to prod the little ones to remember their p’s and q’s.
From The Verge ● Nov. 29, 2018
"That's the biggest adjustment. It makes me lock in defensively. I know I have to be on my p's and q's."
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 8, 2018
She snaps back, “Now, you just mind your own p’s and q’s there!”
From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
E-Mili 1st 3 qs wasted but 4th was a vg one.
From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2013
After the camera pans to the board – which has the words 'shaqattack', 'shaqalici', 'shaquesque' and, yes, 'shaqfu' on it – Shaq is asked: "How do you get so many qs?"
From The Guardian ● Oct. 12, 2012
Today's playgoers are not so likely to be put off by Cock-A-Doodle Dan dy's zany unconcern with sequiturs, probabilities or dramatic ps and qs.
From Time Magazine Archive
Diana is closeted in Clarence House, the residence of the Queen Mother, getting a cram course in monarchical ps and qs.
From Time Magazine Archive
For instance, there were twenty ss, and only two qs.
From The Adventures of Bobby Orde by Worth Brehm
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.
