Definition of "universal"

universal

/ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsl̩/

adjective
comparative more universal, superlative most universal
1. Of or pertaining to the universe.
2. Common to all members of a group or class.
  Quotations
  In Logic, the letter A is used as a symbol for the universal affirmative proposition in the general form "all x is y."
  1911, 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica
  I had been planning every day through these years toward a universal car.
  1922, Henry Ford, Samuel Crowther, chapter 4, in My Life and Work, Garden City, New York: Garden City Publishing Company, Inc.
3. Common to all society; worldwide.
  Quotations
  [John] Dryden's univerſal genius, his firmly eſtablished reputation, and the glory his memory muſt always reflect upon the nation that gave him birth, make us ardently wiſh for a more accurate life of him than any which has hitherto appeared: […]
  a. 1701 (date written), John Dryden, “The Life of John Dryden, Esq.”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume I, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, page xiii
4. Unlimited; vast; infinite.
5. Useful for many purposes; all-purpose.
noun
plural universals
1. (philosophy) A characteristic or property that particular things have in common.
  Quotations
  When we examine common words, we find that, broadly speaking, proper names stand for particulars, while other substantives, adjectives, prepositions, and verbs stand for universals.
  1912, Bertrand Russel, The Problems of Philosophy, Chapter 9
  We might also distinguish those expressions which are used to refer to individuals or particulars from those which are used to refer to what philosophers have called universals: e.g., to distinguish such expressions as "Everest" and "this chair" from "the number three", "the color red" and "drunkenness".
  1970, John R. Searle, Speech acts‎
  Empiricism was similarly a response to this loss of universals—a radically contingent world with no underlying order must constantly be studied and tested—and made God himself unnecessary: divine spirit and human spirit were alien enough to each other that they could function without taking each other into account.
  2021, Meghan O'Gieblyn, chapter 11, in God, Human, Animal, Machine […]