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• y
  y

  an unknown quantity.
• Y
  Y

  noun

  the 25th letter of the English alphabet, a semivowel.
• y-
  y-

  a prefix occurring in certain obsolete words (ywis ) and especially in archaic past participles.
• -y
  -y

  a native English suffix of adjectives meaning “characterized by or inclined to” the substance or action of the word or stem to which the suffix is attached: juicy; grouchy; rumbly; dreamy. Sometimes used to mean “allowing, fostering, or bringing about” the specified action: sippy.
• y.
  y.

  abbreviation

  yard; yards.
• Y.
  Y.

  abbreviation

  YMCA or YWCA

y

¹ American  

Symbol, Mathematics.

1. an unknown quantity.

2. (in Cartesian coordinates) the y-axis.

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Y ² American  

[wahy] / waɪ /

Or y

noun

• Y's,
  plural
• Ys,
  plural
• y's,
  plural
• ys
  plural

1. the 25th letter of the English alphabet, a semivowel.

2. any spoken sound represented by the letter Y or y, as in yet, city, or rhythm.

3. something having the shape of a Y .

4. a written or printed representation of the letter Y or y.

5. a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter Y or y.

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Y ³ American  

[wahy] / waɪ /

abbreviation

1. Informal. the Y, the YMCA, YWCA, YMHA, or YWHA.

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Y ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. yen.

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Y ⁵ American  

Symbol.

1. the 25th in order or in a series.

2. (sometimes lowercase) the medieval Roman numeral for 150.

3. Electricity. admittance. Sometimes y

4. Chemistry. yttrium.

5. Biochemistry. tyrosine.

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y- ⁶ American  

Also i-

1. a prefix occurring in certain obsolete words (ywis ) and especially in archaic past participles.

   yclad.

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-y ⁷ American  

1. a native English suffix of adjectives meaning “characterized by or inclined to” the substance or action of the word or stem to which the suffix is attached: juicy; grouchy; rumbly; dreamy. Sometimes used to mean “allowing, fostering, or bringing about” the specified action: sippy.

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-y ⁸ American  

Also -ie

1. a noun-forming suffix with a variety of functions in contemporary English, added to monosyllabic bases to create words that are almost always informal. Its earliest use, probably still productive, was to form endearing or familiar names or common nouns from personal names, other nouns, and adjectives (Billy; Susie; birdie; doggie; granny; sweetie; tummy ). The hypocoristic feature is absent in recent coinages, however, which are simply informal and sometimes pejorative (boonies; cabby; groupie; hippy; looie; Okie; preemie; preppy; rookie ). Another function of -y2 -ie is the formation from adjectives of nouns that denote exemplary or extreme instances of the quality named by the adjective (baddie; biggie; cheapie; toughie ), sometimes focusing on a restricted, usually unfavorable sense of the adjective (sharpie; sickie; whitey ). A few words in which the informal character of -y2 -ie has been lost are now standard in formal written English (goalie; movie ).

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-y ⁹ American  

1. a suffix of various origins used in the formation of action nouns from verbs (inquiry ), also found in other abstract nouns.

   carpentry; infamy.

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y. ¹⁰ American  

abbreviation

1. yard; yards.

2. year; years.

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Y ¹ British  

symbol

1. any unknown, unspecified, or variable factor, number, person, or thing

2. chem yttrium

3. currency

   1. yen

   2. yuan

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y ² British  

/ waɪ /

noun

1. the 25th letter of the modern English alphabet

2. a speech sound represented by this letter, in English usually a semivowel, as in yawn, or a vowel, as in symbol or shy

3. 1. something shaped like a Y

   2. ( in combination )

      a Y-cross

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-y ³ British  

suffix

1. (from nouns) characterized by; consisting of; filled with; relating to; resembling

   sunny

   sandy

   smoky

   classy

2. (from verbs) tending to; acting or existing as specified

   leaky

   shiny

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-y ⁴ British  

suffix

1. denoting smallness and expressing affection and familiarity

   a doggy

   a granny

   Jamie

2. a person or thing concerned with or characterized by being

   a groupie

   a fatty

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-y ⁵ British  

suffix

1. (from verbs) indicating the act of doing what is indicated by the verbal element

   inquiry

2. (esp with combining forms of Greek, Latin, or French origin) indicating state, condition, or quality

   geography

   jealousy

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y ⁶ British  

symbol

1. the y- axis or a coordinate measured along the y- axis in a Cartesian coordinate system

2. an algebraic variable

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Y. ⁷ British  

abbreviation

1. YMCA or YWCA

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y. ⁸ British  

abbreviation

1. year

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Y's
  plural
• Ys
  plural
• y's
  plural
• ys
  plural

Etymology

Origin of y-⁶

Middle English y-, i- (reduced variant a- ), Old English ge-, prefix with perfective, intensifying, or collective force; cognate with Old Frisian, Old Saxon ge-, gi-, Gothic ga-, German ge-; compare perhaps Latin com- com-

Origin of -y⁷

Old English -ig; cognate with German -ig; compare perhaps Latin -icus, Greek -ikos

Origin of -y⁸

From late Middle English (Scots), originally in names; of uncertain origin; baby and puppy, now felt as having this suffix, may be of different derivation

Origin of -y⁹

Representing Latin -ia, -ium; Greek -ia, -eia, -ion; French -ie; German -ie

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

y Y y- -y y. Y. Y's Ys y's ys

Spanish police said they had arrested a man for setting off a fire in Castilla y Leon region by using farm machinery in breach of a ban in the tinderbox conditions.

From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026

Former Spain winger Jesus Navas also attended as he was the first player from Los Palacios y Villafranca to win the World Cup, when he did so in 2010.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

"He campaigned in black and white, sharpening differences," said researcher Juan Alvarez at the Caro y Cuervo Institute.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

The free train ride was part of an annual event called la Ruta de la Tapa y el Cóctel, where people are encouraged to visit different local businesses to try their food and drink offerings.

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026

She’s noticed the higher she makes the y axis coordinate, the steeper the line gets.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

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

He drives a 2024 Tesla Model Y and a 2025 Tesla Model 3.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Romy Wood from Cardiff submitted her entry titled Y Dderwen under the pseudonym Lithedora.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

There’s a really good taco place right near the Hermosa Beach Pier called Palmilla Cocina Y Tequila.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

Y r u being so creepy n txting my frnd?

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

Now, let’s look at the points where these lines cross the y- axis.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

TRY IT : : 4.37 Find the x- and y- intercepts on the graph.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

This time the y- value is a constant, so in this equation, y does not depend on x .

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

For each row, the y- coordinate of the point where the line crosses the x- axis is zero.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

Line-end hyphens were retained in past participles in i-, y- and equivalent, and after the prefixes out- and to-; they were omitted before common endings such as -lich, -ship, -ness, -full.

From A Concise Dictionary of Middle English From A.D. 1150 to 1580 by A. L. (Anthony Lawson) Mayhew

It’s another day ending in -y so Fortnite is having a new crossover event.

From The Verge ● Aug. 12, 2021

There has been a bit of inconsistency with the spelling of Zoey’s name, but it is with a -y.

From The Guardian ● Jan. 3, 2020

Well-established steps test for symmetry about an axis: replace x or y with -x or -y and then simplify the equation.

From The New Yorker ● Oct. 10, 2018

As for her name, did the author mean to suggest a diminutive or nickname—in English nomenclature, the -y ending is typical of both—or perhaps chokkie, nursery slang for a chocolate treat?

From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2015

Orismologia -y: the defining of scientific or technical terms.

From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by John. B. Smith

Find x and y. x = Dx, y = Dy.

From Textbooks ● May 6, 2020

Commander Joseph Jerome Sher in the Naval Medical Bulletin sidesteps the whole open *y. closed debate, recommends using the X-ray technique for 30 days in each cyst case before resorting to surgery.

From Time Magazine Archive

The principal abbreviations used in these pages are: b. standing for born. m. standing for married. d. standing for died. y. standing for young.

From The Stephens Family A Genealogy of the Descendants of Joshua Stevens by Alonzo Smith Bower

All y are x, and all x are y. i.e.

From The Game of Logic by Lewis Carroll

The section below is a small portion of the blastodermic area. b.d., blastoderm. y., the undivided yolk. s.c., the segmentation between the blastoderm and yolk.

From Text Book of Biology, Part 1: Vertebrata by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

Or, when the bot feels sassy: “Not X. Not Y. But Z.”

From Slate ● Mar. 20, 2026

To doubters, Scaringe and his executives frequently point to the success of Tesla’s similarly sized and priced Model Y. Tesla sold nearly 360,000 Model Ys in the U.S. in 2025, making it America’s bestselling EV.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026

The project’s curator, Christine Y. Kim, said “sister dreamer” gained momentum during the pandemic, when the need for public gathering spaces became urgent.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2026

In the Middle Ages, rats served as the reservoir for Y. pestis, while fleas acted as the vector that spread the bacterium.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 7, 2026

“Man, I’d give my one remaining ball to live here, I tell you that. I’m trying to get into a home around here, at the Y. Anyway—there’s the phone.”

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini

The R2 exploits the Model Y’s greatest weakness.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026

More than 75,000 BYDs were sold in Mexico last year, according to Segment Y’s tally.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2026

Sefton Council later acknowledged the risk assessments for Mr Y’s visits with the children - supervised by his parents - were not "sufficiently robust".

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2024

The company has utilised the integrated casting for Model Y's rear production, the report said.

From Reuters ● Sep. 27, 2023

Thanks to his long acquaintanceship with the locker room attendant, he and Maniac were privileged to continue using the Y’s shower facilities at their pleasure.

From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli

Still, Tesla could be raising prices because it sees strong demand for higher-end Model Ys.

From Barron's ● May 17, 2026

Nvidia became the first $4 trillion company by selling the silicon equivalent of fast, powerful and expensive Ferrari sports cars, but now the world wants Priuses and Model Ys.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026

One such lost city – Ys – was believed to lie in the Bay of Douarnenez, just a few kilometres to the east.

From BBC ● Dec. 11, 2025

EVs are scarce here in Milan’s inner city, with a smattering of Tesla Model 3s and Ys and shoebox-sized Smart and Citroën Ami EVs.

From Seattle Times ● May 28, 2023

It was a note, and it read: New CC was testing for undetected Ys, Os, Rs.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

Fill in 4 for all the y’s in Table 3.3 and then choose any values for x.

From Textbooks ● May 6, 2020

I should have typed ‘Hey’ with two y’s, not just one!’

From The Guardian ● Jan. 10, 2016

I could add and subtract and multiply and divide, but I entered the wilderness when words became equations and x’s and y’s.

From The New Yorker ● Jan. 26, 2015

Her chromosomal structure, as a from-the-crypt voice tells us, isn’t so much a matter of the usual x’s and y’s as it is of z’s.

From New York Times ● Sep. 19, 2011

He picked up his pencil and began to try to untangle an equation with unknown x’s and unnamed y’s.

From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins

The original is as follows: “By commyxstion and mellyng furst wiþ danes and afterward wiþ Normans in menye þe contray longage ys apeyred, and som vseþ strange wlaffyng, chyteryng, harrying and garryng, grisbittyng.”

From The Guardian ● Aug. 15, 2019

“He sa ys he kno ws,” Helen told Theresa.

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

More upwarde be Eryri Hilles, and in them ys very little corne.

From Climbing in The British Isles, Vol. II Wales and Ireland by H. C. Hart

‘No wonder,’ sayde the patriarke, ‘for they loue thyne and not the; that ys to meane, they loue thy goodes temporall, and fere the for losse of promocyon, but they loue not thy soule.’

From The History of the Knights Templars, the Temple Church, and the Temple by Charles G. Addison

Now ys ther non other say Of hyme to wyne the fyld þat day     add.

From Torrent of Portyngale by Unknown

Related Words

• corner
• edge
• intersection
• slant
• twist