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:
The former Greater Manchester mayor frequently posts videos setting out areas of policy, and he has also held an online Q and A session for Reddit users.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
But he subsequently changed his story, telling Q Magazine it was about "an imaginary friend who's going to come and save you from yourself".
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
Q: What will you do if they try to intervene?
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
After a long space, the post said, “and by Q we mean quantum.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
If she had to work late, Q let me stay over and me and Dray would play video games all night.
From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi
In a large part of the geographic range of E. q. hopiensis there are numerous, massive outcrops of Mesozoic sandstones, which tend to form cliffs, that are brightly colored with many shades of red.
From Taxonomy of the Chipmunks, Eutamias quadrivittatus and Eutamias umbrinus by White, John A.
This suggests that where only E. q. hopiensis occurs on a mountain this subspecies goes higher than on a mountain where E. u. adsitus also occurs.
From Taxonomy of the Chipmunks, Eutamias quadrivittatus and Eutamias umbrinus by White, John A.
Bacula of E. q. hopiensis from northeastern Arizona are like those in typical E. q. quadrivittatus.
From The Baculum in the Chipmunks of Western North America by White, John A.
Teut., kater, a he-cat, and boetse, rendered cavillatio, q., "a cat's quarrel."
From Our Cats and All About Them Their Varieties, Habits, and Management; and for Show, the Standard of Excellence and Beauty; Described and Pictured by Weir, Harrison
That is, "he's cowpet the crans," q. v.
From The Proverbs of Scotland by Hislop, Alexander
James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling’s “broken windows” theory posited that crime is more than a willful act—it’s the product of a cultural atmosphere.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 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 even leaned back and licked his lips after asking the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., about dropping atomic bombs to end World War II.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2024
“Look for the landing site. Less than half an hour to go. They’ll flash at us when they hear us—Morse for Q. That’s long-long-short-long.”
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
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
Note that the electric field is defined for a positive test charge q , so that the field lines point away from a positive charge and toward a negative charge.
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
Then discuss whether the equilibrium is stable or unstable, noting that this may depend on the signs of the charges and the direction of displacement of q from the center of the square.
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
It has the letter q carved on each side in faded red.
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
Q’s posts also stopped, leaving many followers adrift.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2025
“It’s a Ugly Come Up” is so feral, so brazenly uninhibited, that Schoolboy Q’s “Blue Lips” seems almost family-friendly by comparison.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 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
Think of it as Social Q’s for birding.
From New York Times ● Jul. 28, 2023
I search my memory for this Uncle Q’s story—his name has come up several times before but I’ve never met him, never seen him, until now.
From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi
Here, he takes an opportunity to respond publicly to a few Qs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
"So we can inform the young people to 'be on your Ps and Qs, dress smart, walk well, stay in safe spaces, stay seen."
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2025
Your Qs aren’t hard, but when you’re obnoxious, we answer other reporters’ Qs.”
From Washington Times ● Jan. 24, 2020
“He’s definitely on his Ps and Qs as far as pass protection,” Talib said of Anderson.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2018
There were the scions of Nigerian aristocrats in their business suits giving dap to bald-headed Qs in purple windbreakers and tan Timbs.
From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
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
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
Getting sense my q's today went over ppls heads - maybe going fwd I shouldn’t stay up late watching @Dbacks games...
From Time ● Jun. 8, 2017
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
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
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
For instance, there were twenty ss, and only two qs.
From The Adventures of Bobby Orde by Brehm, Worth
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.
