ubiquity
Americannoun
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the state or capacity of being everywhere, especially at the same time; omnipresence.
the ubiquity of magical beliefs.
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(initial capital letter) the omnipresence of God or Christ.
Etymology
Origin of ubiquity
1570–80; < New Latin ubiquitās, equivalent to Latin ubīqu ( e ) everywhere + -itās -ity
Explanation
It’s here, there, and everywhere! Ubiquity is the state of being everywhere all the time. Like a pop song that plays every place you go, or the ubiquity of mosquitoes in the summer or pollen in the spring. There’s no escape! A god is a great example of ubiquity: an all-knowing deity that exists in every nook and cranny. The Latin root word ubique means “everywhere,” and something with ubiquity is indeed everywhere, impossible to avoid. Sometimes ubiquity is a mind trick, like learning that a group of crows is called a "murder," and then noticing crows everywhere you go, all day long. Wherever you go, you're reminded of the ubiquity of crows.
Vocabulary lists containing ubiquity
This Week in Words: November 26 - December 1, 2017
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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.
While the exhibit is enabled by the entwined ubiquity of the English language and the internet, the artists know these technologies aren’t transparent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
They require “an investment that we make in driving ubiquity of these newer services.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
"Social media has now permeated to the smallest towns in India, and has near ubiquity among young Indians," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Immigration to the US from football-crazed countries has also helped, along with the ubiquity of Fifa video games, said Bank.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
So widespread was Olmec iconography—jaguar babies, carved stelae, distinctively shaped ceramics—that many archaeologists believed its very ubiquity was evidence that the Olmec “not only engendered Mesoamerica but also brought forth the first Mesoamerican empire.”
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
