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• U
  U

  noun

  the 21st letter of the English alphabet, a vowel.
• u.
  u.

  abbreviation

  and.
• U.
  U.

  abbreviation

  and.
• u
  u

  noun

  the 21st letter and fifth vowel of the modern English alphabet

U

¹ American  

[yoo] / ju /

Or u

noun

• U's,
  plural
• Us,
  plural
• u's,
  plural
• us
  plural

1. the 21st letter of the English alphabet, a vowel.

2. any spoken sound represented by the letter U or u, as in music, rule, curious, put, or jug.

3. something having the shape of a U .

4. a written or printed representation of the letter U or u.

5. a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter U or u.

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U ² American  

[yoo] / ju /

pronoun

Informal.

1. you.

   Shoes Fixed While U Wait.

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U ³ American  

[yoo] / ju /

adjective

Informal.

1. characteristic of or appropriate to the upper class, especially of Great Britain.

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U ⁴ American  

[oo] / u /

noun

1. a Burmese title of respect applicable to a man: used before the proper name.

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U ⁵ American  

Symbol.

1. (on a packaged product) certified as kosher by the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations.

2. the 21st in order or in a series.

3. Chemistry. uranium.

4. Biochemistry. uracil.

5. Thermodynamics. internal energy.

6. British. a designation for motion pictures determined as being acceptable for viewing by all age groups.

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u. ⁶ American  

abbreviation

1. and.

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u. ⁷ American  

abbreviation

1. uniform.

2. unit.

3. unsatisfactory.

4. upper.

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U. ⁸ American  

abbreviation

1. and.

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U. ⁹ American  

abbreviation

1. uncle.

2. uniform.

3. union.

4. unit.

5. united.

6. university.

7. unsatisfactory.

8. upper.

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U ¹ British  

symbol

1. united

2. unionist

3. university

4. 1. universal (used to describe a category of film certified as suitable for viewing by anyone)

   2. ( as modifier )

      a U film

5. chem uranium

6. biochem uracil

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abbreviation

1. text messaging you

adjective

1. old-fashioned (esp of language habits) characteristic of or appropriate to the upper class Compare non-U

U. ² British  

abbreviation

1. maths union

2. unit

3. united

4. university

5. upper

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u ³ British  

/ juː /

noun

1. the 21st letter and fifth vowel of the modern English alphabet

2. any of several speech sounds represented by this letter, in English as in mute, cut, hurt, sure, pull, or minus

3. 1. something shaped like a U

   2. ( in combination )

      a U-bolt

      a U-turn

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U ⁴ British  

/ uː /

noun

1. a Burmese title of respect for men, equivalent to Mr

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• U's
  plural
• Us
  plural
• u's
  plural
• us
  plural

Etymology

Origin of U²

First recorded in 1840–45

Origin of U³

First recorded in 1950–55; u(pper class)

Origin of U⁴

First recorded in 1930–35; from Burmese ʔú, roughly “Mister, Uncle,” used for senior men and monks

Origin of u.⁶

From the German word und

Origin of U.⁸

From the German word und

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

U u. U. u U's Us u's us

U Maung Maung Lwin, the administrator of the ward to which Phyo Wai was taken, later admitted to the BBC that he had played a role in sending him to the military recruitment authorities.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

Yet she eventually found success writing songs for her friend Ariana Grande — chart-topping hits like “Thank U, Next” and “7 Rings” that set up Monét for a breakthrough as a performer with “Jaguar II.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

U Mobile’s pricing should support broader market recovery, while its peers could benefit from firmer industry mobile revenue growth of 2%-3% in 2026-2027, he adds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

The version of SPH used in the study was developed at the U of A and the University of Bern in Switzerland.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026

We start up the left side of the U, keeping close to the wall to stay out of everyone’s way.

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston

“Great! Miss u. See u soon. <3,” she replied.

From Slate ● Jan. 29, 2022

"Thank you. Love u. Showtime!" the message read.

From Fox News ● Jan. 10, 2022

“My Prayers are with u. I’ve lost 1 of the best coaches I’ve ever had.”

From Washington Times ● Aug. 8, 2021

“Tom, Harry again! Really need to speak to u. U do not need to apologize, we understand the circumstances but ‘going public’ will only make the situation worse.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 20, 2020

“Thought I knew u. Looks like I was wrong. One day ur gonna turn around and realize what u thru away.”

From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli

When the instructions are copied into RNA, the letter T is replaced by U. Consequently, the corresponding stop codons in RNA are written as UAA, UAG, and UGA.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

Its population of Torrey pine trees is one of just two spots in the U. S. where that species is found.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

The new 50% tariff was set to cover $20 billion worth of Canadian goods—about 5% of Canada’s annual exports to the U. S.—ranging from hockey sticks and electronics to plastics and building materials.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

The opinion then states, “If the officers learn that the individual they stopped is a U. S. citizen or otherwise lawfully in the United States, they promptly let the individual go.”

From Salon ● Feb. 12, 2026

William Julius Wilson, back at the U. of C., was having regular nightmares on Venkatesh’s behalf.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

Reacting to the trailblazing astronauts vibing to their song, the band said on Instagram: "Omg... I love u guys."

From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026

Cole replied: "Appreciate u king! People got to learn how to take a joke. It's all in fun."

From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026

“I need your help and u r powerful strong man.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026

“James u were the best. So kind, so caring, so thoughtful, so talented, great father, and just an absolute inspiration of a human being,” Beck wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026

These kinds of explanations made me feel my mother and I inn, J u i LSUL*I\ spoke two different languages, which we did.

From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan

But he defended Better U’s model, saying that it’s designed around careful screening, conservative dosing, required preparation appointments and safety protocols like blood-pressure monitoring.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026

“If I was to describe Big U’s role in rap, he would definitely be the godfather,” Khalifa said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2025

Danny Cowley won't care a jot about this, but the U’s don’t have the best record against Mansfield in recent seasons.

From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2024

"Expectations for a flood of fresh funding into Man U's coffers for a new stadium and new players are being revised."

From Reuters ● Oct. 16, 2023

The worst report card I’d ever gotten from Mountford Prep had three U’s for Unsatisfactory, and I threw that one down the garbage chute.

From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

Friday's episode saw the the Traitors at it again, murdering Last of Us actor Bella Ramsey, before the faithfuls did their dirty work for them by killing another of their own, Julie Hesmondhalgh.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Us reporters were given her speech script, allowing us to follow it line-by-line to help us report what she has said quickly and accurately.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Indeed, the listing came as reports emerged about the couple’s dedication to their future together, with a source telling Us Weekly that they are “very serious and committed to each other.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

Macklemore, known for hits including "Thrift Shop" and "Can't Hold Us", has long vocally supported Palestinians.

From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026

Many societies, or groups in a society, identify as Us or We and view people outside their group as They or Them.

From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Webster is the man definitively responsible for removing the u’s from “colour” and “honour,” for example.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025

And then, every fourth January, we’re suddenly expected to say it, to spell it, to know where to place the u’s and a’s.

From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2017

And there are going to be a lot more u’s on the prompter.

From New York Times ● Jun. 3, 2013

Mother and son shared a strong sense that certain colors and certain letters of the alphabet are related—p was an unripe apple green, for instance; y's and u's had a brassy "olive sheen."

From Time Magazine Archive

Let u's face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short.

From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell

“Thank you for your patience and understanding,” Sanders said, “and giving us the time that we needed to navigate some dysfunction and some troubled waters to write the album we’re proud of.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

“That gives us the ability to produce the highest quality steel that electric arc furnace producers have not been able to produce,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

It's really important to say the data can only tell us so much.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

"We are renters and can get up and move, but the sense of stability this apartment gave us was everything to me."

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

Father bought Stetsons and bandannas to protect us from the sun.

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes