What does ubiquitous mean?
Word: Ubiquitous
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Ubiquitous means seeming to be in every place at the same time; very common.
Synonyms: widespread, pervasive
Antonyms: rare, scarce
Word origin: Comes from the Latin word ubique.
How do you spell ubiquitous?
Syllables: u - biq - ui - tous
Tricky part: The trap is at the end: students add an extra i before ous, as though the word followed ambitious.
Watch out for: ubiquitious, ubiquitiously
Memory tip: The end is a quick tuss, with no sh sound after the t as there is in ambitious. So nothing squeezes in after the t.
Ubiquitous in a sentence
Example 1: In Kerala, coconut palms are so ubiquitous that visitors soon stop noticing them.
Example 2: The ubiquitous cup of chai appears at every family gathering in our town.
Example 3: Plastic bottles have become ubiquitous on hiking trails, sadly.
Fun Fact
The computer scientist Mark Weiser made the phrase ubiquitous computing famous around 1988, picturing a time when computers would blend into everyday objects.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the misspelt word:
a) conspicuous
b) ubequitous
c) strenuous
d) ambiguous
Show answer
b) ubequitous. The stressed syllable has the short i of big.
Sound Check
In which word is 'qu' pronounced differently?
a) tranquil
b) ubiquitous
c) request
d) antique
Show answer
d) antique. Antique ends in a plain k sound; the other three have a kw sound.
Word Tally
How many words are misspelt in the sentence?
Smartphones have become so ubiqitous that even the tea seller at our local railway staton takes payment through a QR code.
a) 4
b) 2
c) 3
d) 1
Show answer
b) 2. Ubiquitous has lost the u after its q and station its i; everything else is correct.
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
tuosqiubiu
a) made entirely by hand in small batches
b) kept hidden from the eyes of others
c) cropping up wherever you happen to look
d) too heavy for one person to lift
Show answer
c) cropping up wherever you happen to look. The ten letters make ubiquitous, a word for things you meet again and again.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. On Indian roads, what could fairly be called ubiquitous?
a) camel carts
b) vintage cars
c) double-decker buses
d) two-wheelers
Show answer
d) two-wheelers
2. A song is ubiquitous this summer. What would you probably find?
a) it is played only at concerts
b) it is hard to avoid hearing it
c) it is sung only in one city
d) very few people have heard it
Show answer
b) it is hard to avoid hearing it
