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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

Two separate wildfires in the Madrid region combined on Friday to form one huge blaze, which threatened to merge with a third near Avila in the neighbouring Castilla y Leon region.

From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026

Emergency services for Castilla y León said it had received several calls about the collapse of the fountain.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

"The parking problems are seriously bad - obviously around Pen y Pass, but throughout the national park," said Rhys ap Gwilym, an economist at Bangor University who has done research on the topic.

From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026

Difference: Benni is still screaming as the bus drives y.

From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds

Test your knowledge of the English language: How many words can you create with the letters P, Y, C, R, O, and T?

From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026

The company sold 467,762 Model 3 and Y electric compact cars and SUVs.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026

In early 2022, the regulator launched an investigation that covered roughly 416,000 2021 and 2022 Tesla Model 3 sedans and Model Y compact sport-utility vehicles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

Auto sales in the period overwhelmingly consisted of the Model 3 sedan and the Model Y sport utility vehicle, with fewer than three percent going to other vehicles, including Tesla's futuristic Cybertruck.

From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026

From top to ground level, they are: U and Z T and Y S and X R and W Q and V The Q-and-V galleries are on the flats.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover

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

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

Since the x- and y- intercepts are the same point, we need two more points to graph the line.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

TRY IT : : 4.38 Find the x- and y- intercepts on the graph.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

To find the y- intercept, let x = 0 and solve for y.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

The infinitives of verbs rarely have y- prefixed; two examples are y-lere, 12, y-se, 334.

From The Lay of Havelok the Dane by Unknown

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

Nouns of the Third Declension end in -a, -e, -ī, -ō, -y, -c, -l, -n, -r, -s, -t, -x.

From New Latin Grammar by Bennett, Charles E. (Charles Edwin)

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

This identification has been corroborated by Dr. Philip H. Krutzsch, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and extends the known range of the subspecies M. y. yumanensis approximately 300 miles northeastward in Utah.

From Additional Records and Extensions of Known Ranges of Mammals from Utah by Durrant, Stephen D.

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

From The Game of Logic by Carroll, Lewis

It delivered itself, a few nights ago, of this extraordinarily lucid message: x. y. z! upon which it was gravely explained by the true believers that "the spirits were out of temper about something."

From The Letters of Charles Dickens Vol. 1, 1833-1856 by Hogarth, Georgina

Kevin Y. Fu wrote in his sentencing memo.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026

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

From Slate ● Mar. 20, 2026

The scientists detected Y. pestis DNA in the remains of a domesticated sheep that lived about 4,000 years ago.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 7, 2026

In China, its launch pricing started at 299,900 Chinese Yuan, which converts to roughly $43,000—in the same range as a Tesla Model Y. Yet the Xiaomi experience feels more premium.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026

The games went good because there’s always some smoking brothers playing at the Y. At the Y if you can’t get down you got to watch.

From "Slam!" by Walter Dean Myers

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

In line with statutory guidance the council should have issued Y's final EHC plan by late April 2023, but did not do so until mid-October.

From BBC ● Jan. 9, 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

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

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

Tesla builds Model Ys using large, one-piece "mega-castings" to create big chunks of the vehicle's body structure.

From Reuters ● Apr. 19, 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 should have typed ‘Hey’ with two y’s, not just one!”

From New York Times ● Jul. 6, 2015

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

Once the guppies turn into x's and y’s, my contacts fog.

From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson

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

His Gratious Sovereign hearing of his death, gave him his high comendation in ys pationate expression, Bring me a moorning scarffe, i have lost One of the best Commanders in this Kingdome.

From Curious Epitaphs by Various

What tounge can speake ye Vertues of ys Creature?

From The Portsmouth Road and Its Tributaries To-Day and in Days of Old by Harper, Charles G. (Charles George)

And than experience to me came, And seyde, kateryne, I the ensuer, Thys lady ys but seldom fro home.

From Medieval English Nunneries c. 1275 to 1535 by Power, Eileen

Related Words

• corner
• edge
• intersection
• slant
• twist