Showing results for "y"

• a variation of -ie.

Jump To:

• y
  y

  an unknown quantity.
• Y
  Y

  noun

  the 25th letter of the English alphabet, a semivowel.
• y-
  y-

  a prefix occurring in certain obsolete words (ywis ) and especially in archaic past participles.
• -y
  -y

  a native English suffix of adjectives meaning “characterized by or inclined to” the substance or action of the word or stem to which the suffix is attached: juicy; grouchy; rumbly; dreamy. Sometimes used to mean “allowing, fostering, or bringing about” the specified action: sippy.
• y.
  y.

  abbreviation

  yard; yards.
• Y.
  Y.

  abbreviation

  YMCA or YWCA

y

¹ American  

Symbol, Mathematics.

1. an unknown quantity.

2. (in Cartesian coordinates) the y-axis.

---

Y ² American  

[wahy] / waɪ /

Or y

noun

• Y's,
  plural
• Ys,
  plural
• y's,
  plural
• ys
  plural

1. the 25th letter of the English alphabet, a semivowel.

2. any spoken sound represented by the letter Y or y, as in yet, city, or rhythm.

3. something having the shape of a Y .

4. a written or printed representation of the letter Y or y.

5. a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter Y or y.

---

Y ³ American  

[wahy] / waɪ /

abbreviation

1. Informal. the Y, the YMCA, YWCA, YMHA, or YWHA.

---

Y ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. yen.

---

Y ⁵ American  

Symbol.

1. the 25th in order or in a series.

2. (sometimes lowercase) the medieval Roman numeral for 150.

3. Electricity. admittance. Sometimes y

4. Chemistry. yttrium.

5. Biochemistry. tyrosine.

---

y- ⁶ American  

Also i-

1. a prefix occurring in certain obsolete words (ywis ) and especially in archaic past participles.

   yclad.

---

-y ⁷ American  

1. a native English suffix of adjectives meaning “characterized by or inclined to” the substance or action of the word or stem to which the suffix is attached: juicy; grouchy; rumbly; dreamy. Sometimes used to mean “allowing, fostering, or bringing about” the specified action: sippy.

---

-y ⁸ American  

Also -ie

1. a noun-forming suffix with a variety of functions in contemporary English, added to monosyllabic bases to create words that are almost always informal. Its earliest use, probably still productive, was to form endearing or familiar names or common nouns from personal names, other nouns, and adjectives (Billy; Susie; birdie; doggie; granny; sweetie; tummy ). The hypocoristic feature is absent in recent coinages, however, which are simply informal and sometimes pejorative (boonies; cabby; groupie; hippy; looie; Okie; preemie; preppy; rookie ). Another function of -y2 -ie is the formation from adjectives of nouns that denote exemplary or extreme instances of the quality named by the adjective (baddie; biggie; cheapie; toughie ), sometimes focusing on a restricted, usually unfavorable sense of the adjective (sharpie; sickie; whitey ). A few words in which the informal character of -y2 -ie has been lost are now standard in formal written English (goalie; movie ).

---

-y ⁹ American  

1. a suffix of various origins used in the formation of action nouns from verbs (inquiry ), also found in other abstract nouns.

   carpentry; infamy.

---

y. ¹⁰ American  

abbreviation

1. yard; yards.

2. year; years.

---

Y ¹ British  

symbol

1. any unknown, unspecified, or variable factor, number, person, or thing

2. chem yttrium

3. currency

   1. yen

   2. yuan

---

y ² British  

/ waɪ /

noun

1. the 25th letter of the modern English alphabet

2. a speech sound represented by this letter, in English usually a semivowel, as in yawn, or a vowel, as in symbol or shy

3. 1. something shaped like a Y

   2. ( in combination )

      a Y-cross

---

-y ³ British  

suffix

1. (from nouns) characterized by; consisting of; filled with; relating to; resembling

   sunny

   sandy

   smoky

   classy

2. (from verbs) tending to; acting or existing as specified

   leaky

   shiny

---

-y ⁴ British  

suffix

1. denoting smallness and expressing affection and familiarity

   a doggy

   a granny

   Jamie

2. a person or thing concerned with or characterized by being

   a groupie

   a fatty

---

-y ⁵ British  

suffix

1. (from verbs) indicating the act of doing what is indicated by the verbal element

   inquiry

2. (esp with combining forms of Greek, Latin, or French origin) indicating state, condition, or quality

   geography

   jealousy

---

y ⁶ British  

symbol

1. the y- axis or a coordinate measured along the y- axis in a Cartesian coordinate system

2. an algebraic variable

---

Y. ⁷ British  

abbreviation

1. YMCA or YWCA

---

y. ⁸ British  

abbreviation

1. year

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Y's
  plural
• Ys
  plural
• y's
  plural
• ys
  plural

Etymology

Origin of y-⁶

Middle English y-, i- (reduced variant a- ), Old English ge-, prefix with perfective, intensifying, or collective force; cognate with Old Frisian, Old Saxon ge-, gi-, Gothic ga-, German ge-; compare perhaps Latin com- com-

Origin of -y⁷

Old English -ig; cognate with German -ig; compare perhaps Latin -icus, Greek -ikos

Origin of -y⁸

From late Middle English (Scots), originally in names; of uncertain origin; baby and puppy, now felt as having this suffix, may be of different derivation

Origin of -y⁹

Representing Latin -ia, -ium; Greek -ia, -eia, -ion; French -ie; German -ie

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

y Y y- -y y. Y. Y's Ys y's ys

The patriarch played a crucial role in the development of his daughter Selena’s career, establishing his family-led band Selena y Los Dinos in the 1980s as a way to meet financial needs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

The food alone made the day’s mileage seem like a bargain: octopus in Galicia, Arzúa-Ulloa cheese from a farmers market or milk-fed lamb that made me forgive every hill in Castilla y León.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

A massive fire near Madrid is close to merging with another blaze in neighbouring Castilla y Leon, government official Nicanor Sen Velez has said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026

A 4,000-name petition calling for aerial help was prompted by one fire spreading into Coed y Brenin in Conwy county.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

The repetition of “Santa Maria, Madre de Dios, ruega Señora por nosotros los pecadores ahora y en la horn de nuestra muerte, amen,” slowly comforted and soothed my soul.

From "The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child" by Francisco Jiménez

Tesla has long promised a profitable robotaxi business, powered primarily by the Cybercab and supplemented by self-driving Tesla Model Y vehicles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Last year Tesla debuted its self-driving cars in Austin using its Model Y SUV vehicles, with the "Robotaxi" service gradually expanding to several other cities in Texas, Florida and California.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

Tesla's recall involves 2.9 million domestically-made units of its Model 3 and Model Y electric cars and begins on September 25.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

Our guest is a hardworking, well-groomed Model Y Premium RWD that I hooked up with through Turo, the peer-to-peer car-sharing platform.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

At once Calder had known what to do—the Y had to slide into the U, which had to fit next to the P. He even remembered the sequence of letters: YUP.

From "Chasing Vermeer" by Blue Balliett

Since the x- and y- intercepts are the same point, we need two more points to graph the line.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

Now, let’s look at the points where these lines cross the y- axis.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

Choose any three values for x and then solve for the corresponding y- values.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

In each row, the x- coordinate of the point where the line crosses the y- axis is zero.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

Line-end hyphens were retained in past participles in i-, y- and equivalent, and after the prefixes out- and to-; they were omitted before common endings such as -lich, -ship, -ness, -full.

From A Concise Dictionary of Middle English From A.D. 1150 to 1580 by A. L. (Anthony Lawson) Mayhew

It’s another day ending in -y so Fortnite is having a new crossover event.

From The Verge ● Aug. 12, 2021

There has been a bit of inconsistency with the spelling of Zoey’s name, but it is with a -y.

From The Guardian ● Jan. 3, 2020

Well-established steps test for symmetry about an axis: replace x or y with -x or -y and then simplify the equation.

From The New Yorker ● Oct. 10, 2018

As for her name, did the author mean to suggest a diminutive or nickname—in English nomenclature, the -y ending is typical of both—or perhaps chokkie, nursery slang for a chocolate treat?

From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2015

Medull′ar, -y, consisting of, or resembling, marrow or pith; Med′ullated, provided with a medullary sheath.—n.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

Find x and y. x = Dx, y = Dy.

From Textbooks ● May 6, 2020

Commander Joseph Jerome Sher in the Naval Medical Bulletin sidesteps the whole open *y. closed debate, recommends using the X-ray technique for 30 days in each cyst case before resorting to surgery.

From Time Magazine Archive

I therefore commanded the b. y. to row me over to the spot where the derelict lay.

From Spanish Doubloons by Camilla Kenyon

The Vowels are a Voice or Sound modified by a various opening of the Mouth only, and are either Simple, or Uniform, as a. e. i. j. y. o. u. w.

From The Talking Deaf Man A Method Proposed, Whereby He Who is Born Deaf, May Learn to Speak by Daniel Foot

All y are x, and all x' are y. i.e.

From The Game of Logic by Lewis Carroll

I’m very satisfied with the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y. One-pedal driving, superb handling, confident acceleration and excellent stopping power if needed spoil you.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Or, when the bot feels sassy: “Not X. Not Y. But Z.”

From Slate ● Mar. 20, 2026

The project’s curator, Christine Y. Kim, said “sister dreamer” gained momentum during the pandemic, when the need for public gathering spaces became urgent.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2026

His team will search for additional human and animal remains that may contain traces of Y. pestis.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 7, 2026

He blinked twice at Y. Then O, then at L...and I needed no more letters to finish writing YOLANDA.

From "Silent To The Bone" by E.L. Konigsburg

As for millennials, if you’re looking to draw that line for the current crop of thirty-to-fortysomethings, the point that separates Gen Y’s art and all that came before, look no further than Lena Dunham.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

The Model Y’s pitch starts with an altogether reasonable price.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

The Model Y’s charging rate maxes out at 250 kW.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

He lauded the Model Y’s best-selling status at the meeting and promoted the Cybertruck, his electric pickup, despite actions by regulators earlier this week to recall nearly all Cybertrucks on the road.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2025

Thanks to his long acquaintanceship with the locker room attendant, he and Maniac were privileged to continue using the Y’s shower facilities at their pleasure.

From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli

Still, Tesla could be raising prices because it sees strong demand for higher-end Model Ys.

From Barron's ● May 17, 2026

To doubters, Scaringe and his executives frequently point to the success of Tesla’s similarly sized and priced Model Y. Tesla sold nearly 360,000 Model Ys in the U.S. in 2025, making it America’s bestselling EV.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026

One such lost city – Ys – was believed to lie in the Bay of Douarnenez, just a few kilometres to the east.

From BBC ● Dec. 11, 2025

Tesla also resumed discounts on some Model Ys of nearly $600 off each.

From Reuters ● Jun. 1, 2023

And all along the rooftop of the structure stood twelve-foot-tall steel posts, a picket line of uppercase Ys, each of them strung with razor wire.

From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith

Subtract 7y to each side to get the y’s to one side.

From Textbooks ● May 6, 2020

I should have typed ‘Hey’ with two y’s, not just one!’

From The Guardian ● Jan. 10, 2016

“I should have typed ‘Hey’ with two y’s, not just one!”

From New York Times ● Jul. 6, 2015

I could add and subtract and multiply and divide, but I entered the wilderness when words became equations and x’s and y’s.

From The New Yorker ● Jan. 26, 2015

He picked up his pencil and began to try to untangle an equation with unknown x’s and unnamed y’s.

From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins

The original is as follows: “By commyxstion and mellyng furst wiþ danes and afterward wiþ Normans in menye þe contray longage ys apeyred, and som vseþ strange wlaffyng, chyteryng, harrying and garryng, grisbittyng.”

From The Guardian ● Aug. 15, 2019

“He sa ys he kno ws,” Helen told Theresa.

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

Once ys is found as plural: 2524 ys—iwys.

From Torrent of Portyngale by Unknown

Lyke strings well tuned in an unison, No discord harsh ys navell could untye.

From The Portsmouth Road and Its Tributaries To-Day and in Days of Old by Charles G. (Charles George) Harper

His Gratious Sovereign hearing of his death, gave him his high comendation in ys pationate expression, Bring me a moorning scarffe, i have lost One of the best Commanders in this Kingdome.

From Curious Epitaphs by Various

Related Words

• corner
• edge
• intersection
• slant
• twist