What does quality mean?
Quality describes the standard, condition, or degree of excellence belonging to a person, thing, action, or experience. It commonly appears in phrases such as high quality, quality of life, and quality of service, where it evaluates how good, reliable, useful, or well made something is. The word can also refer to a defining characteristic: a teacher might praise a student’s qualities of patience and insight. In conversation, especially in British English, quality may serve informally as an adjective before a noun, as in a quality product, or as an adverb, as in playing quality football. Its practical value lies in distinguishing excellence or condition from mere quantity: a product may be available in great abundance without being good. In this sense, quality carries a generally positive connotation, though it can also be used critically when discussing poor standards or declining performance.
The standard or degree of excellence of a person, thing, process, or experience.
"The company has a reputation for quality rather than quantity."
This is the standard and dominant modern use.
Informally, of high quality.
"They bought a quality sofa that will last for years."
Chiefly informal and especially common in British English.
Informally, in a manner or standard characterized by high quality.
"The defender played quality football throughout the match."
Chiefly informal and especially common in British English.
The plural is used for different standards, characteristics, or attributes.
"The speakers identified several qualities that made the proposal persuasive."
Quality is the difference between having more and having better.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does quality come from?
The word entered English in the late Middle English period from Old French qualité, which derived from Latin qualitas, a noun formed from qualis, meaning ‘of what kind’ or ‘of what sort’. Latin qualitas came to mean the condition or property of something, and its meaning eventually developed toward the modern sense of excellence or standard. English developed related forms such as qualify, qualitative, and qualifier from the same Latin root. The word’s history therefore reflects a shift from the question of what kind something is to the assessment of how good it is.
Related word forms
How quality is actually used
The noun is standard in formal and informal English. The adjective and adverb senses are chiefly informal and are especially common in British English; in formal writing, high-quality or well-made is often preferable.
Easily confused with quality
Quality refers to how good or well made something is, whereas quantity refers to how much of it there is.