Y2K

American

[wahy-too-kay] / ˈwaɪˌtuˈkeɪ /

abbreviation

the year 2000.
Also called Y2K bug, millennium bug, Y2K problem. a bug that could cause computers or software to misinterpret a year after 1999 as having the first two digits 19 instead of 20, due to the coding of dates using only the last two digits of the four-digit year.

adjective

relating to or characteristic of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The outfit merges Y2K aesthetics with contemporary trends.

Y2K British

noun

another name for the year 2000 _ad (esp referring to the millennium bug)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Y2K

First recorded in 1995–2000; Y(ear) + 2 + K symbol for the number 1000

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Y2K

The SaaSpocalypse will pass, as Y2K and the XPocalypse passed, because capable people will do the work.

From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026

In the first two decades since Y2K, by contrast, deaths have averaged around three per term.

From Slate ● Apr. 24, 2026

The Y2K warnings were dire, but the technological fixes largely worked.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026

The Y2K aesthetic elicits a young girl’s diary.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2026

Who would take care of Mr. Mosley when Y2K hit?

From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023