Showing results for "y"

• a variation of -ie.

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• 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.

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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.

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Y ³ American  

[wahy] / waɪ /

abbreviation

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

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Y ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. yen.

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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.

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y- ⁶ American  

Also i-

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

   yclad.

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-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.

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-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 ).

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-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.

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y. ¹⁰ American  

abbreviation

1. yard; yards.

2. year; years.

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Y ¹ British  

symbol

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

2. chem yttrium

3. currency

   1. yen

   2. yuan

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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

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-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

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-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

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-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

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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

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Y. ⁷ British  

abbreviation

1. YMCA or YWCA

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y. ⁸ British  

abbreviation

1. year

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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

"He campaigned in black and white, sharpening differences," said researcher Juan Alvarez at the Caro y Cuervo Institute.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

“Here in Hollywood’s hometown, we love a good underdog story,” Becerra told cheering supporters at his election night party at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes in downtown Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026

SYDNEY—Australian fast-food retailer Guzman y Gomez GYG 13.44%increase; green up pointing triangle has scrapped its U.S. expansion plans after its Mexican-themed dishes failed to entice local diners.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

Makepeace-Warne said the Creg y Cowin area marked a large scale development but, looking ahead, bigger targets were in sight.

From BBC ● May 20, 2026

“Let’s count cars,” I suggest. u ml y n 1 here s one.

From "Rules" by Cynthia Lord

Test your knowledge of the English language: How many words can you create with the letters P, Y, C, R, O, and T?

From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026

A new working paper examining thousands of recent Y Combinator and other U.S. venture-backed startups indicates as much.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

A quarter of startups in Y Combinator's Winter 2025 batch were built on code that was 95 percent AI-generated, according to Managing Partner Jared Friedman.

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

The company sold 467,762 Model 3 and Y electric compact cars and SUVs.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026

The Rivers Niger and Benue merge and make a Y shape.

From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

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

To find the y- intercept, let x = 0 and solve for y.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

Find the x- and y- intercepts of the line.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

This relation gives us additional evidence of the identity of the physical effects of y-, x-, and light-rays —using the term light rays in the usual sense of spectral rays.

From The Birth-Time of the World and Other Scientific Essays by Joly, John

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

Oc′ulāte, -d, having eyes, or spots like eyes; Oculau′ditory, representing an eye and an ear together; Oculif′erous, Oculig′erous, bearing an eye or eyes; Oc′uliform, ocular in form; Oc′ulimōtor, -y, ocular and motory.—n.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) 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

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

From The Game of Logic by Carroll, Lewis

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 Foot, Daniel

This identification has been corroborated by Dr. Philip H. Krutzsch, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and extends the known range of the subspecies M. y. yumanensis approximately 300 miles northeastward in Utah.

From Additional Records and Extensions of Known Ranges of Mammals from Utah by Durrant, Stephen D.

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

From Slate ● Mar. 20, 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

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

The scientists detected Y. pestis DNA in the remains of a domesticated sheep that lived about 4,000 years ago.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 7, 2026

—A. Y. “I’m going to leave that up for the rest of the semester,” he said.

From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green

The R2 exploits the Model Y’s greatest weakness.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026

More than 75,000 BYDs were sold in Mexico last year, according to Segment Y’s tally.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2026

By the October, Y's tuition had stopped because they struggled to engage with it and council records showed the authority had asked a special advisory teacher to carry out a review of the child's plan.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2025

Other researchers, however, express more skepticism about neuropeptide Y’s significance in human evolution.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 11, 2023

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

Nvidia became the first $4 trillion company by selling the silicon equivalent of fast, powerful and expensive Ferrari sports cars, but now the world wants Priuses and Model Ys.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 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

The agency said it received two complaints in which 2023 Model Ys were delivered to customers with a missing bolt holding the wheel to the steering column.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 8, 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 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

Her chromosomal structure, as a from-the-crypt voice tells us, isn’t so much a matter of the usual x’s and y’s as it is of z’s.

From New York Times ● Sep. 19, 2011

My answer'd died in the second line of x's and y's and squareds.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

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

More upwarde be Eryri Hilles, and in them ys very little corne.

From Climbing in The British Isles, Vol. II Wales and Ireland by Hart, H. C.

Euyry man toke ys leve, ase I yow say, Hom-ward to wend ther wey, Euery man ys Rest to take.

From Torrent of Portyngale by Unknown

T. to Taylous, to Talewyse, for Temperaunce ys best.

From Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales A Sequel to the Nursery Rhymes of England by Halliwell-Phillipps, J. O. (James Orchard)

Related Words

• corner
• edge
• intersection
• slant
• twist