i
1 American-
Also called imaginary unit. the imaginary number .
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a unit vector on the x -axis of a coordinate system.
noun
plural
I's, Is, i's, is-
the ninth letter of the English alphabet, a vowel.
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any spoken sound represented by the letter I or i, as in big, nice, or ski.
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something having the shape of an I.
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a written or printed representation of the letter I or i.
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a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter I or i.
pronoun
nominative
I,possessive
my, mine,objective
me,plural nominative
we,possessive
our, ours,objective
usnoun
plural
I's-
(used to denote the narrator of a literary work written in the first person singular.)
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Metaphysics. the ego.
abbreviation
-
the ninth in order or in a series.
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(sometimes lowercase) the Roman numeral for 1.
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Chemistry. iodine.
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Biochemistry. isoleucine.
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Electricity. current.
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Logic. particular affirmative.
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(italics) isotopic spin.
abbreviation
-
imperator.
-
incisor.
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interest.
-
intransitive.
-
island.
-
isle; isles.
abbreviation
-
Independent.
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Island; Islands.
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Isle; Isles.
pronoun
symbol
-
chem iodine
-
physics current
-
physics isospin
-
logic a particular affirmative categorial statement, such as some men are married, often symbolized as SiP Compare A E O 1
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one See Roman numerals
abbreviation
abbreviation
-
International
-
Island or Isle
noun
-
the ninth letter and third vowel of the modern English alphabet
-
any of several speech sounds represented by this letter, in English as in bite or hit
-
-
something shaped like an I
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( in combination )
an I-beam
-
-
to pay meticulous attention to detail
suffix
symbol
Grammar
See me.
Etymology
Origin of I
First recorded before 900; Middle English ik, ich, i, Old English ic, ih; cognate with Gothic ik, German ich, Old Norse ek, Latin ego, Greek egṓ, Old Church Slavonic azŭ, Lithuanian aš, Sanskrit ahám
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.
"This information will prevent the overtreatment of low-risk patients, thereby limiting side effects and unnecessary costs, while intensifying the monitoring and treatment of those at high risk," says Ariel Ruiz i Altaba.
From Science Daily • Mar. 21, 2026
"It's irrelevant really. It's how the players react to that. If they absorb it and it affects them, then that's a negative. But i think our players are robust enough to ignore it."
From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026
It recovered a bit i n February after Trump nominated former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, viewed as a more traditional pick, as the next Fed chair.
From Barron's • Feb. 19, 2026
In August 2010, a month before Epstein brought the four women to Buckingham Palace, he emailed Andrew: “I have a friend who i think you might enjoy having dinner with.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026
The name stuck, and eventually, the symbol for the square root of –1 became i.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.