- u|ni|ver|sal
- u|ni|ver|sal «YOO nuh VUR suhl», adjective, noun.–adj.1. a) of all; belonging to all; concerning all; shared by all: »
Food is a universal need. Kings are not born; they are made by universal hallucination (George Bernard Shaw).
b) coming from all; shared in by all: »a universal protest.
c) understood or used by all: »the universal language of love.
2. existing everywhere: »The law of gravity is universal. Sickness and disease are universal; they occur in every country of the world.
5. constituting, existing as, or regarded as a complete whole; complete; entire; whole: »the universal cosmos.
6. adaptable as to different sizes, angles, or kinds of work.7. Philosophy, Logic. asserting or denying something of every member of a class; generic: »“All men are mortal” is a universal proposition.
8. Mathematics. having to do with a universe of objects or numbers; comprising all the elements under consideration: »a universal set.
9. capable of operating from either alternating-current or direct-current power lines: »a universal motor, a universal television receiver.
–n.1. Philosophy, Logic. a) that which is predicated or asserted of all the individuals or species of a class or genus; universal proposition. b) a general term or concept; abstraction: »The common man is a universal.
2. something universal, especially a person or thing that is universally powerful or current: »He made their pride, pity, love, anguish, glory, and endurance into universals (Newsweek).
3. = universal joint. (Cf. ↑universal joint)–u´ni|ver´sal|ness, noun.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.