Jump To:

• 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.

---

U ² American  

[yoo] / ju /

pronoun

Informal.

1. you.

   Shoes Fixed While U Wait.

---

U ³ American  

[yoo] / ju /

adjective

Informal.

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

---

U ⁴ American  

[oo] / u /

noun

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

---

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.

---

u. ⁶ American  

abbreviation

1. and.

---

u. ⁷ American  

abbreviation

1. uniform.

2. unit.

3. unsatisfactory.

4. upper.

---

U. ⁸ American  

abbreviation

1. and.

---

U. ⁹ American  

abbreviation

1. uncle.

2. uniform.

3. union.

4. unit.

5. united.

6. university.

7. unsatisfactory.

8. upper.

---

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

---

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

---

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

---

U ⁴ British  

/ uː /

noun

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

---

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

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

Some juicy wordplay: How many words can you make with the letters N, U, E, P, G, and R?

From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026

The US singer's breakout record, which carries hits like Drivers License and Good 4 U, has spent a total of 268 weeks on the chart since its release in June 2021.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

The “Thank U, Next” singer, 32, and “SpongeBob SquarePants” actor, 34, had been linked since 2023.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026

Twelve enormous thrones made a U around a central hearth, just like the placement of the cabins at camp.

From "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan

“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

In late 2023, Angels Creation Reproductive Center—a fast-growing Southern California agency that matches parents in China and other countries with surrogates in the U. S.—recruited the then-25-year-old Simpson.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 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

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

“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

Because if you want to be a small-town girl in U. Valley, that’s what you say.

From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King

“Buy tickets rn,” he said, “or u might miss ur chance to see me perform live bruh!”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026

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

From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2026

After the subsequent death of Alex Pretti, she posted a selfie with the caption: "Hey my fellow celebrities, u gonna speak up?"

From BBC ● Jan. 29, 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

I guess she’s been waiting for word from me. been trying to reach u for 2 hours. sorry!

From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon

The U's have been up for sale since last year, and having had two other takeover attempts fail in that time, fans are anxious for a deal to be done before the summer transfer window.

From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026

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

"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 festive annual highlight of this scheme took place in the week before Kim Jong U’s birthday on February 16.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

It’s Bigger Than Us is a South Los Angeles-based nonprofit offering educational programs, community health resources and crisis response to youth, families and neighborhoods in need.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 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

In 2025, he won five Grammy Awards for his hit song Not Like Us before headlining the Super Bowl halftime show.

From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026

“Extreme diets: How Lindsay and Nicole got so skinny — but have they gone too far?” the honorable Us Weekly wondered.

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026

Us and the man made short work of it.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

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

From New York Times ● Jun. 3, 2013

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

To simplify matters, the new rules would remove it from i's and u's.

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

“Beloved Jackie showed us resilience and strength and the beauty of nature and how she stood for what we all want to believe,” said Patricia Hiscox of Long Island, N.Y.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

"When we hopefully play in the way they want to see us - intense football, a vertical approach, aggressive, front-footed - there is a great synergy between the fans and the team."

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

Democratic theory tells us how to expect politicians to behave in the presence of such incentives.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Presidents rightly expect more security than the rest of us, but that typically comes with greater scrutiny of their locations and activities too.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

But now, the color has seeped out of Davey and left us with a canvas of gray on gray: gray, brooding clouds hanging from gray, murky skies.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold