| 1. | the totality of known or supposed objects and phenomena throughout space; the cosmos; macrocosm. |
| 2. | the whole world, esp. with reference to humanity: a truth known throughout the universe. |
| 3. | a world or sphere in which something exists or prevails: his private universe. |
| 4. | Also called universe of discourse. Logic. the aggregate of all the objects, attributes, and relations assumed or implied in a given discussion. |
| 5. | Also called universal set. Mathematics. the set of all elements under discussion for a given problem. |
| 6. | Statistics. the entire population under study. |

u·ni·verse (yōō'nə-vûrs') n.
[Middle English, from Old French univers, from Latin ūniversum, from neuter of ūniversus, whole : ūnus, one; see oi-no- in Indo-European roots + versus, past participle of vertere, to turn; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots.] |
| universe of discourse n. Logic A class containing all the entities referred to in a discourse or an argument. Also called universe. |