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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

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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

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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

U Mobile led Malaysia’s 5G and overall download speeds in the latest Opensignal report, although its coverage and app experience remained mixed, he notes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

At the time, most of Navarrete’s clients were women applying for a U visa, which offers legal status for crime victims who assist law enforcement in the prosecution of perpetrators.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

Another U of A group will play a leading role in the multi-institutional project infrastructure team "Maximizing Cosmological Science with the Roman High Latitude Imaging Survey."

From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026

Our apartment building in Chesterfield was one story, shaped like a U around a courtyard.

From "Kira-Kira" by Cynthia Kadohata

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

From Slate ● Jan. 29, 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

"Gauntlet on the baby boy @postmalone love u. 2020 is going to be next level. Love you all."

From Fox News ● Dec. 31, 2019

“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 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

"Kithul is not unique to Sri Lanka -- it is found across South and Southeast Asia," KDB chairwoman M. U. Gayani told AFP.

From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026

“Oh, come, I tell you it’s so. He had one of the big-shot scientists of U. S. Robot & Mechanical Men Corporation over at the office to argue with me.”

From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov

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

"Googled u after last email," she wrote in October 2011.

From BBC ● Mar. 19, 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?" the nine-time Grammy winner wrote in an Instagram story post.

From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 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

Neat play down the right and a lovely reverse pass from Jordan Bowery sees Davis Keillor-Dunn burst into the box, but his shot ricochets up off U's keeper Owen Goodman.

From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2024

The centerpiece of it all is Tyson, a 6-foot-3 and 190-pound guard who is arguably the greatest shooter in Seattle U’s history.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 7, 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

A London-based non-profit organisation, People Like Us, is raising awareness of people's legal right to challenge automated decisions when they disagree with the outcome.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

Smith, the SMU student, is president of the college’s It’s On Us chapter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026

His publicist initially told the Associated Press that the renowned designer died of pneumonia, but a death certificate obtained by Us Weekly paints a different picture.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

The Last of Us and Game of Thrones star Bella Ramsey already has experience of playing similar games at drama clubs and at home, which is why they joined the show.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

“Just Us for Justice was fine when we left,” Seven says.

From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas

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

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

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

"The underwater location allows us to implement systematic, large-scale surveys," Seama explains.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026

None of it really makes sense, but none of us really makes sense.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

"She meant everything to us and will be forever loved and missed deeply by her devoted family and friends. She was our rock," they added.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

“Management’s focus on the bottom line leaves us less confident in a speedy turnaround story.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

Ahead, in front and to the left of us, is a man berating a mule.

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

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