Ur
noun
an ancient Sumerian city on the Euphrates, in S Iraq: extensive excavations, especially of royal tombs.
Ur
1 American
[ur, oor]
/ ɜr, ʊər /
noun
ur-
2
American
ur-
3
American
ur-
4
American
(sometimes initial capital letter)
UR
1
British
abbreviation
-
you are
-
your
Ur
2
British
/ ɜː /
noun
Ur-
3
British
combining form
ur-
4
British
combining form
Usage
What does ur- mean? Ur- is a combining form used like a prefix that has two unrelated senses. The first is “urine.” It is used occasionally in medical terms, especially in pathology. In some rare instances, like urate, ur- specifically denotes uric acid, a compound found in urine. This ur- comes from Greek oûron, meaning “urine.” Other combining forms that mean "urine," such as urino- and urin-, come from the Latin for "urine," ūrīn(a). The second is “earliest” or “original.” It is frequently used or appendaged to a wide variety of terms. In some instances, it is stylized with a hyphen after the form, as in ur-fascism. Because the German language capitalizes nouns, the combining form ur- sometimes appears as Ur-, as in Urheimat. This ur- comes from Old High German ur-, meaning “thoroughly.”Despite popular misconception, the name Uranus, a planet named for a Roman god, does not use the combining form ur- to mean "urine” or “earliest.” Discover more about the origins of this name at our entry for Uranus. The chemical compound uranium is also named after this figure from Greco-Roman mythology. What are variants of ur-?The “urine” sense of ur- are variants of uro-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use uro- article. Note that uro- can also mean “tail.” It is occasionally used in scientific terms, especially in anatomy and zoology. This uro- ultimately comes from Greek ourá, meaning “tail.”
Etymology
Origin of ur-
< German ur-, Middle High German, Old High German; cognate with Old English or-
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The court official said a warrant was out for the arrest of team manager Mujeeb Ur Rehman, a Pakistani national, who was also implicated in the case.
From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026
The region's city-states -- Ur, Uruk, and Lagash among them -- developed complex political and religious systems that became the blueprint for later societies.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2025
The “Get Ur Freak On” singer wowed fans again with dancers in glow-in-the-dark costumes, projections of spaceships and an animation of Elliott dressed as an astronaut and grinning as she glides through the cosmos.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2024
Syed Habib Ur Rehman works as a media coordinator at the Afghanistan Consulate General in Karachi.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 28, 2024
From my pants pocket, my phone vibrated, and when I checked it William had sent me a text. “good movie. Ur mom mad?”
From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez
UR: I’ve always liked Mary Kate and Ashley — they dress in all black but they’re just so stylish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2022
UR, Iraq — First Pope Francis showed up at the modest residence of Iraq’s most reclusive, and powerful, Shiite religious cleric for a delicate and painstakingly negotiated summit.
From New York Times ● Mar. 6, 2021
On Wednesday, students planned to stage a sit-in in a classroom just before one of Jaeger’s scheduled classes, then protest at UR President and CEO Joel Seligman’s office.
From Slate ● Sep. 14, 2017
The Man Booker International Prize 2013 UR Ananthamurthy Which of your books would you recommend to a reader approaching your work for the first time?Samskara.
From The Guardian ● May 14, 2013
The usual pronunciation is UR, but the upstart AIR, long considered a mistake, is now acceptable too.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
And then one day at Camp Ponshewaing, Rebecca Ur- banus climbed up on a chair.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
The prefix Ur-, moreover, I use in a deeper sense than is usually attached to it as in Urwald, Urwelt, and the like.
From The Centaur by Algernon Blackwood
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