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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

“When people say, ‘my probability of doom is x or y or whatever, it hits in a different way,” said Altman.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

The patriarch played a crucial role in the development of his daughter Selena’s career, establishing his family-led band Selena y Los Dinos in the 1980s as a way to meet financial needs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

The food alone made the day’s mileage seem like a bargain: octopus in Galicia, Arzúa-Ulloa cheese from a farmers market or milk-fed lamb that made me forgive every hill in Castilla y León.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

A massive fire near Madrid is close to merging with another blaze in neighbouring Castilla y Leon, government official Nicanor Sen Velez has said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026

Helen had never been lazy that Theresa could see, but she had always seemed to possess a certain amount of energy, e, which she could expend on any projects, x, y, z.

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

He sees the R2, with a base price of $44,990, as the only serious competitor to Tesla’s Model Y, he said, because other companies’ electric SUVs “aren’t being pushed and aren’t priced right.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

Yet, the Model Y has held its ground, down only 2%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

The RPC review, which did not name Prof Ian Brown but referred to "Dr Y", found out of the 20 cases reviewed, 15 were "unsatisfactory overall".

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

“He mentioned something like, ‘Look, you can get frustrated with jersey number X or Y, but we still need to love the name on the back,’” Coen said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

Vieta in 1579 began to use algebraic variables—X, Y, Z, etc.—to symbolize unknown quantities.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

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

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

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

Of course it's forward—and indeed It's worse—it's shockingly imprudent Thus to encourage me, a need- -y student.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 100, April 4, 1891 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

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

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 Daniel Foot

Kevin Y. Fu wrote in his sentencing memo.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026

Then technological advances made it possible to sequence DNA recovered from archaeological samples and determine that Y. pestis was indeed the cause.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 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

"Answer this. Twelve M in a Y. What's the M and what's the Y?"

From "The Sky at Our Feet" by Nadia Hashimi

As for millennials, if you’re looking to draw that line for the current crop of thirty-to-fortysomethings, the point that separates Gen Y’s art and all that came before, look no further than Lena Dunham.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

The Model Y’s charging rate maxes out at 250 kW.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

The R2 exploits the Model Y’s greatest weakness.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026

He lauded the Model Y’s best-selling status at the meeting and promoted the Cybertruck, his electric pickup, despite actions by regulators earlier this week to recall nearly all Cybertrucks on the road.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2025

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

Previously, rides were only available in Tesla Model Ys, and in some cases with a safety driver.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

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

From Barron's ● May 17, 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

And all along the rooftop of the structure stood twelve-foot-tall steel posts, a picket line of uppercase Ys, each of them strung with razor wire.

From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith

We have the y’s on the right and the constants on the left.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 22, 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

Each brother was instructed that— “He must love wel God, and holy Churche algate And hys mayster also, that he ys wythe.”

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 1 "Franciscans" to "French Language" by Various

Though that you do, yt ys no boote; Althoughe they cut me to the roote, Next yere againe I will be sene To bude my branches freshe and grene.

From English and Scottish Ballads, Volume I (of 8) by Various

‘Syr kyng,’ he seyd, ‘be goddes dede, Torrant bryngythe a devyll̴ ys hed, 380 Ther with he woll̴ yow present.’

From Torrent of Portyngale by Unknown

Related Words

• corner
• edge
• intersection
• slant
• twist