- objective of thou.
you
Americanpronoun
-
you,
plural
-
your,
possessive
-
yours
possessive
-
the pronoun of the second person singular or plural, used of the person or persons being addressed, in the nominative or objective case.
You are the highest bidder. It is you who are to blame. We can't help you. This package came for you. Did she give you the book?
-
one; anyone; people in general.
a tiny animal you can't even see.
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(used in apposition with the subject of a sentence, sometimes repeated for emphasis following the subject).
You children pay attention. You rascal, you!
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Informal. (used in place of the pronoun your before a gerund).
There's no sense in you getting upset.
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Archaic.
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yourself; yourselves.
Get you home. Make you ready.
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a plural form of the pronoun ye.
-
noun
-
yous
plural
-
something or someone closely identified with or resembling the person addressed.
Don't buy the bright red shirt—it just isn't you. It was like seeing another you.
-
the nature or character of the person addressed.
Try to discover the hidden you.
pronoun
-
refers to the person addressed or to more than one person including the person or persons addressed but not including the speaker
you know better
the culprit is among you
-
Also: one. refers to an unspecified person or people in general
you can't tell the boys from the girls
-
a dialect word for yourself or yourselves See yourself
you should get you a wife now
noun
-
informal the personality of the person being addressed or something that expresses it
that hat isn't really you
-
a thing or person that the speaker cannot or does not want to specify
Usage
In American English the pronoun you has been supplemented by additional forms to make clear the distinction between singular and plural. You-all is a widespread spoken form in the South Midland and Southern United States. A closely related monosyllabic form is written y'all and is used both in and outside of the South Midland and Southern United States, evoking a familiar and informal tone rather than indicating a regional identity. The possessive forms for these are often you-all's and y'all's, respectively, rather than your. You-uns (from you + ones ) is a South Midland form most often found in nonstandard speech; it is being replaced by you-all or y'all. Youse ( you + the plural -s ending of nouns), probably of Irish-American origin, is most common in the North, especially in urban centers like Boston, New York, and Chicago. It is rare in educated speech. You guys is a common informal expression used for plural you. It does not have a strong regional or dialectal association, but its usage is in flux among some populations of speakers. People who adopted plural you guys in the 1980s and 90s may use it as a gender-neutral plural, referring to any group without regard to sex or even a group of women only. Younger speakers and politically progressive speakers are more likely to perceive you guys as gendered and problematically noninclusive of trans and nonbinary people, and as such tend to avoid its use. See also me.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of you
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English ēow (dative, accusative of gē ye 1 ); cognate with Old Frisian ju, Old Saxon iu, Dutch u, Old High German iu, eu
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:
"Evolutionarily speaking, you don't keep the organ that you don't need. After watching many videos, I realized this animal is moving its eyeball toward the light."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
"Styria is really a wonderful place to be. You have mountains, you have lakes, if you're interested in wine you can go wine tasting... The quality of life is very good," he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026
“Thank you for your commitment, your patience, and your belief in Brown-Forman’s future. It continues to anchor this company,” Farrer wrote on July 26, encouraging family members to reach out to him with any questions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
"You're seeing something in the short-form video where it's creating tension, showing you a lot of mess, and there's a process and resolution that can be quite reassuring," Ahmed says.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
“Someday I hope you will come to our lovely country,” she writes.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Speeches that deviate from the ubiquitous laundry list of thank yous always get more attention, whether they’re political or not, for the simple reason that they’re so dang unusual.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026
When comedian and actress Amy Poehler of Good Hang with Amy Poehler won the prize, she fangirled over the rapper and excitedly delivered her thank yous.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2026
The black-clad, 23-year-old singer-songwriter barely spoke to the audience, uttering only a couple of thank yous during one of two solo performances at the venue this past weekend.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
They kissed and exchanged I love yous; Joe shuffled to the door.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 6, 2023
Milkman slumped over the crate and caught his breath, barely able to nod to the old man’s thank yous.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
Jess Pryles, a live-fire cook and the author of “Prime Cuts,” offered her own lyrical description: “Wagyu gives a buttery richness and so easily melts over your tongue.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
"As such, I respectfully ask you in the name of football to reconsider your attendance as it will unfortunately undermine the technical nature of this important youth development activity."
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
Addressing Macron, he added: "Thank you for confirming your readiness to provide licenses for the production of missiles."
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
"If a galaxy were a city, the brightest stars would be the skyscrapers that immediately catch your eye from afar," said lead author Chloe Cheng, a recent doctoral graduate of Leiden University.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
“A woman of your spirit should join the guerrillas,” he says.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
‘Lovely bloke I’m told. Colleague of yours, yes?’
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026
"So you search for one and when you find it, no-one else will have it: that sound is yours."
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
Celeste replied "of course its yours David", according to testimony from a detective.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
At age 62, he is entitled to collect up to 50% of the amount of his ex-spouse’s Social Security benefits, if they are greater than yours.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
“My mother’s fortune is a fantasy of yours, nothing more. If it existed, don’t you think I would know?”
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
