Meaning of quality in English

quality

noun

/ˈkwɑː.lə.t̬i/ uk

/ˈkwɒl.ə.ti/

quality noun (STANDARD)

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B1 [ C or U ]

how good or bad something is:

a store advertising top quality electrical goods

The food was of such poor/low quality.

Their products are of very high quality.

I only buy good-quality wine.

The quality of the picture on our television isn't very good.

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

of bad quality

badThe food wasn’t as bad as I’d expected.
poorTheir efforts produced extremely poor results.
low/poor/bad qualityTheir sausages are made with low-quality meat.
mediocreThe receiver has been benched after a mediocre performance on the field.
inferiorThe copies are of inferior quality.

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Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

of high quality

goodBuy a really good foundation and cultivate a healthy glow.
good/high qualityWe have a real commitment to high-quality ingredients.
qualityWe are working hard to produce a quality product.
fineThey have a well-stocked cellar full of fine wines.
superiorThe food and service here are superior to any other restaurant in the city.

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B1 [ U ]

a high standard:

He's not interested in quality. All he cares about is making money.

quality of life

the level of enjoyment, comfort, and health in someone's life:

My quality of life has improved tremendously since I moved to the country.

More examplesFewer examples

What the problem comes down to is 'Will the consumer be willing to pay more for a higher quality product?'
Is there any significant difference in quality between these two items?
Price alone is not a reliable indicator of quality.
Poor quality is the unacceptable face of increased productivity.
These improvements in quality are the first fruits of our investment.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Quality and standard

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Suitable and acceptable

quality noun (CHARACTERISTIC)

B2 [ C ]

a characteristic or feature of someone or something:

leadership qualities

He has a lot of good qualities but being organized isn't one of them.

[ + to infinitive ] I don't think he has the right qualities to be a teacher.

This cheese has a rather rubbery quality to it (= it is like rubber).

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Her singing voice has a pure, crystalline quality.
There's a dreamlike quality to the final stages of the film.
Her voice had an extraordinary hypnotic quality.
Her beauty had an incandescent quality to it.
Cyril's most impressive quality was his innate goodness.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Mind and personality

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Conditions and characteristics

quality

adjective

/ˈkwɑː.lə.t̬i/ uk

/ˈkwɒl.ə.ti/

B1 [ before noun ]

of a high standard:

This is a quality product.

mainly UK The story received little coverage in the quality papers (= more serious newspapers).

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

of high quality

goodBuy a really good foundation and cultivate a healthy glow.
good/high qualityWe have a real commitment to high-quality ingredients.
qualityWe are working hard to produce a quality product.
fineThey have a well-stocked cellar full of fine wines.
superiorThe food and service here are superior to any other restaurant in the city.

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[ after verb ] informal

very good:

That gig was quality.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Extremely good

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Informal words for good

(Definition of quality from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

quality | Intermediate English

quality

noun

/ˈkwɑl·ɪ·t̬i/

quality noun (EXCELLENCE)

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[ U ]

the degree of excellence of something, often a high degree of it:

Our company guarantees the quality of our merchandise.

[ U ]

Quality often refers to how good or bad something is:

The fabric was of the highest quality.

quality noun (CHARACTERISTIC)

[ C ]

a characteristic or feature of someone or something:

We’re looking for someone who loves children and has the qualities of a good teacher.

quality

adjective

/ˈkwɑl·ɪ·t̬i/

quality adjective (EXCELLENT)

of a high standard; excellent:

This is a quality product.

(Definition of quality from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

quality | Business English

quality

noun

/ˈkwɒləti/ us

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[ C or U ]

how good or bad something is:

quality of sth We constantly seek to improve the quality of service we give to our customers.

This raises questions about the quality of management within the company.

We've been very happy with the quality of work they have delivered in recent months.

good/top/high quality British toys used to be good quality, not cheap mass-produced stuff.

They sell organic products of the highest quality.

poor/low quality We were shocked at the poor quality of some of the furniture.

improve/decline in quality His line manager believes his work had declined in quality.

picture/build/sound quality This type of TV delivers stunning picture quality.

[ U ]

a high standard:

They claim their brand name is a guarantee of quality.

The company is committed to quality.

[ C, usually plural ]

a good feature of a person's character:

She has demonstrated great leadership qualities in continuing the company's success through a very difficult year.

Personal qualities and commitment are more important for the job than educational qualifications.

Inspectors normally need a degree, but exceptions are occasionally made for candidates with the right qualities.

[ C ]

a characteristic or feature of something, that makes it different from other things:

What qualities would you expect a German car to have?

We will combine the best qualities of both companies with a focus on our future, not our past.

Examples of quality

quality

What is the quality you most like in a man?

From Huffington Post

Their choices seemed random and were taken regardless of quality.

From The New York Review of Books

In order to find your right story, you need the third thing, which is a quality state, he says.

From Huffington Post

So the more important concern surrounding the screen-time debate isn't the time; it's the quality of the content.

From Huffington Post

But there are qualities that would be slightly different.

From CNBC

There are millions of people around the world that have access only to the poorest quality of education or sometimes nothing at all.

From NPR

He's striving for free, quality education for all, anywhere.

From NPR

We understand what contributes to the low quality of the game.

From ESPN

The printing quality -- if the printing is bad or if the color is off.

From Fast Company

There is a tradeoff in quality and quantity.

From Slate Magazine

Local school systems should be left free to decide how to improve teacher quality.

From Baltimore Sun

And a searching quality enters in the music to the point where you don't know which direction it's going to move in.

From NPR

We chose aquaponics because we wanted to know the source of our food and ensure it was of a certain quality.

From Huffington Post

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.