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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

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

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

“Here in Hollywood’s hometown, we love a good underdog story,” Becerra told cheering supporters at his election night party at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes in downtown Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026

SYDNEY—Australian fast-food retailer Guzman y Gomez GYG 13.44%increase; green up pointing triangle has scrapped its U.S. expansion plans after its Mexican-themed dishes failed to entice local diners.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

Makepeace-Warne said the Creg y Cowin area marked a large scale development but, looking ahead, bigger targets were in sight.

From BBC ● May 20, 2026

These infinitesimals survived unchanged throughout Leibniz’s calculations; indeed the derivative of y with respect to x was not the infinitesimal-free ratio of fluxions y/x, but the ratio of infinitesimals dy/dx.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

A quarter of startups in Y Combinator's Winter 2025 batch were built on code that was 95 percent AI-generated, according to Managing Partner Jared Friedman.

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

Moving forward, the EV maker will sell just three new vehicles: the popular Model 3 and Model Y, and its low-volume stainless steel Cybertruck pickup.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● 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

Her two front teeth are chipped, making a small upside-down Y in her smile.

From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée

Choose any three values for x and then solve for the corresponding y- values.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

One way to recognize that they are indeed the same line is to look at where the line crosses the x- axis and the y- axis.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

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

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

Use the equation of the line to find the y- intercept of the line, let x = 0 and solve for y.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 2020

In the West Midland, the prefix i- or y- is seldom used for the past participle, whilst the East Midland admits it more freely.

From English Dialects From the Eighth Century to the Present Day by Skeat, Walter W. (Walter William)

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

Vehic′ūlar, -y, pertaining to or serving as a vehicle.—v.t.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various

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 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 Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)

The Vowels are a Voice or Sound modified by a various opening of the Mouth only, and are either Simple, or Uniform, as a. e. i. j. y. o. u. w.

From The Talking Deaf Man A Method Proposed, Whereby He Who is Born Deaf, May Learn to Speak by Foot, Daniel

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

From The Game of Logic by Carroll, Lewis

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

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

About the author: Mark Y. Rosenberg is a visiting scholar and lecturer with the UC Berkeley Department of Political Science and Computational Social Science.

From Barron's ● Mar. 2, 2026

In time the place was homier than his own room at the Y. “How ’bout a corn muffin?” said Grayson, choosing something easy on his bad teeth and aching gums.

From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli

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

There were 76 electric SUVs in 2020 before Tesla started producing Model Ys in China, with average annual sales amounting to just 3,000 units.

From Reuters ● May 8, 2023

The agency said it received two complaints in which 2023 Model Ys were delivered to customers with a missing bolt holding the wheel to the steering column.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 8, 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

She spoke with an Ayorthaian accent, smacking her lips after the letter m and pronouncing her l’s as y’s.

From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine

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

And so hyt ys an holy thyng To bene in habyte reguler; Than, as by owtewarde array in semyng, Beth so wythin, my ladyes dere.

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

Euyry man toke ys leve, ase I yow say, Hom-ward to wend ther wey, Euery man ys Rest to take.

From Torrent of Portyngale by Unknown

There ys a gyante here be-syde, 960 In ale thys covntre fare and wyde f. 92b.

From Torrent of Portyngale by Unknown

Related Words

• corner
• edge
• intersection
• slant
• twist