Quality means how good or bad something is. When you talk about the quality of a pencil, you're describing whether it writes smoothly, breaks easily, or lasts a long time. High quality means something is well-made and works as it should. Low quality means something is poorly made and might not work very well.

You can judge quality in almost anything: the quality of a book (is it well-written and interesting?), the quality of your work on a science project (did you put in effort and attention to detail?), or the quality of a friendship (do you trust and support each other?). A quality education means one that truly teaches you important skills and knowledge.

The word can also describe a characteristic or trait that makes something or someone special. Courage is an admirable quality in a person. The quality of being waterproof makes a raincoat useful. In this sense, qualities are the features that define something. You might say, “She has many good qualities, like kindness and determination.”

When something is described as quality, it usually means excellent. A carpenter might talk about doing quality work, meaning work done with skill and care. The phrase quality over quantity suggests that having fewer things that work well matters more than having lots of things that don't.