Generally, the word is used to mean a sign of good or bad things happening in the future, and terms such as 'engi wo katsugu' (be superstitious), 'engi ga yoi' (sign of a good thing happening in the future) and 'engi ga warui' (sign of a bad thing happening in the future) are used.
一般には、良いこと、悪いことの起こるきざし・前兆の意味で用いられ、「縁起を担ぐ」、「縁起が良い」、「縁起が悪い」などと言う。