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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

A delicious word salad: How many words can you create with the letters Y, B, O, F, U, and N?

From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026

Anderson, a professor of nutritional sciences at U of T's Temerty Faculty of Medicine, says the evidence from human research has not always matched those concerns.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026

The building also will be home to Port U, the port’s internal training and career development program.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

"I could maybe count with my hands the number of people who aren't investing today," South Korean investor U Chan Lee says.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

They were arranged in a rough U shape around the broad stone plaza and were connected by stone walkways and stone steps.

From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart

“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

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

Beam was featured in the fifth season of Last Chance U. The series profiles him and his team, the Laney Eagles, as they fend off rival teams in the northern California city.

From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2025

“We categorically reject any claims of providing any form of support to either warring party since the onset of the civil war,” a U. A.E official said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025

“The combination of expected Fed easing and renewed optimism around U. S.—China trade talks has supported Bitcoin’s latest rebound,” said David Hernandez, an analyst at 21Shares.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2025

“He’s the star of Man U. He’s a star on the national team too.”

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

Shortly after Khalife absconded from prison, at around 20:41 BST, Khan messaged his then-girlfriend Chowdhury's bank details and told her to "put 120£ in this ac… please thank u baby".

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026

“Hey my fellow celebrities u gonna speak up?” she wrote in an Instagram story Monday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2026

"Hey my fellow celebrities u gonna speak up?" the nine-time Grammy winner wrote in an Instagram story post.

From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026

He detected that the date initially typed on the document had said “June,” and that someone had then carefully rubbed out the u and the e.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

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

It is also the most significant single gift ever made to a university in Washington state and the largest gift of any kind in Seattle U’s 133-year history, the university said.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 13, 2024

U's manager Danny Cowley said how much he was looking forward to putting points on the board this week, and his players seem in the mood to oblige.

From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2024

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

Based in London, she is an independent business and environmental journalist and author of the book "Consumed: How Big Brands Got Us Hooked on Plastic."

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Mehrabian recalled seeing acts like Tale Of Us and Solomun at Lot 613 in their early days.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

This was an era during which “you could just walk onto the tarmac without a ticket,” said Brendan Koerner, author of The Skies Belong to Us.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

It is unknown if actress Blake Lively, who drew Swift into a bitter legal battle with Lively's It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni, will be invited.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

Then he run the chain through the holes in the ends of both of the Us.

From "The Journey of Little Charlie" by Christopher Paul Curtis

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

Or ‘you are sooo ugly’ — but with 10 u’s, 10 g’s, 10 l’s, like they’re all screaming it at someone.”

From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2010

It kept reading my a's as g's or u's, my b's as d's and sprinkling periods liberally throughout my text.

From Time Magazine Archive

No mistaking her u's for n’s or her is for e's.

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg

“Here what worries us is having electricity, water and money and then resolving the day’s needs,” said Irelis Cedeño, a 65-year-old pensioner who lives just outside of Caracas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

"It's an academic year calendar with a space for each of us, and then an events section, so as soon as a notice comes in, I write it down."

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

The police said that they have been in contact with the Glendale Unified School District, “who are aware of the incident and are assisting us wherever appropriate.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026

We all recognized Dolly Parton’s specialness, but her true magic was in constantly reminding her audience that each of us is special, too.

From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026

Both of us are slick, slippery with water and dirt.

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