quality

quality

I

qual‧i‧ty¹ S1 W1 /ˈkwɒləti, ˈkwɒlɪti $ ˈkwɑː-/ noun (plural qualities)1. [uncountable and countable] how good or bad something is:
    Much of the land was of poor quality.
    Use only high quality ingredients.
    quality of
    The quality of the water is reasonably good.
2. [countable usually plural] something that people may have as part of their character, for example courage or intelligence ⇨ characteristic:
    He shows strong leadership qualities.
    the personal qualities necessary to be a successful salesman
    quality of
    the qualities of honesty and independence
3. [countable] something that is typical of one thing and makes it different from other things, for example size, colour etc:
    the drug’s addictive quality
    quality of
    the physical and chemical qualities of the rock
4. [uncountable] a high standard:
    his pride in the quality of his craftsmanship
    wines of quality
5. quality of life how good or bad your life is, shown for example by whether or not you are happy, healthy, able to do what you want etc:
    drugs that improve the quality of life for very ill patients
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + quality
   ▪ good/high I was impressed that the quality of their work was so high.
   ▪ poor/low The magazine is printed on low quality paper.
   ▪ excellent/outstanding The T-shirts are only $10 and the quality is excellent.
   ▪ superior formal (=good or better quality) These speakers offer superior quality sound.
   ▪ top quality Our chef uses only top quality ingredients.
   ▪ water/air quality Scientists took samples to test the water quality.
   ▪ sound quality I apologise for the poor sound quality of this recording.
   ▪ picture quality (also image quality) Does this type of TV set have a better picture quality?
■ verbs
   ▪ improve/enhance the quality The measures will improve the quality of the water in the river.
   ▪ affect the quality Lack of sleep started to affect the quality of his work.
   ▪ test/check/monitor the quality The equipment is used to monitor the city’s air quality.
   ▪ maintain the quality Staffing problems made it difficult to maintain the quality of the service.
   ▪ the quality goes up/down I think the quality has gone down over the years.
   ▪ the quality suffers (=it is badly affected by something) The picture quality suffers if the signal isn’t digital.
■ quality + NOUN
   ▪ quality standards Greater investment is needed to meet the European Union’s strict quality standards.
■ COMMON ERRORS
    ► Do not say 'living quality' or 'life quality'. Say quality of life.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ characteristic something that is typical of someone or something and makes them easy to recognize: He had several characteristics which made him different to the rest of his family. | the physical characteristics of the brain | He studied the special characteristics of adult speech addressed to children.
   ▪ quality a characteristic of a person, especially a good one such as kindness or intelligence: Tina has a lot of good qualities. | I’m not sure about his leadership qualities. | Obedience is a quality that my father admires.
   ▪ feature an important or interesting characteristic of something: it seems to be a feature of modern society that we tend to judge ourselves by our work above everything else. | A curious feature of the novel is the absence of women. | The building still has many of its original features.
   ▪ property [usually plural] technical a characteristic of a substance or object, for example hardness or elasticity, or how it behaves - used especially in scientific contexts: We examined the physical properties of various metals. | changes in the electrical properties of cells | Some plants have healing properties.
   ▪ attribute formal a good or useful characteristic: I suspected I probably did not quite possess all the attributes required to succeed at the highest level. | All living things are able to reproduce their kind, an attribute which no machine possesses..
   ▪ good/bad points good or bad characteristics – used when someone or something has both good and bad characteristics: The seller will obviously emphasize the car’s good points. | Draw up a list of your partner’s good and bad points.

II

quality² adjective [only before noun]
1. [no comparative] very good – used especially by people who are trying to sell something:
    quality child-care at prices people can afford
    quality double glazing
2. quality newspapers/press etc British English newspapers etc intended for educated readers