you
Americanpronoun
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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?
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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.
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noun
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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.
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the nature or character of the person addressed.
Try to discover the hidden you.
pronoun
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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
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Also: one. refers to an unspecified person or people in general
you can't tell the boys from the girls
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a dialect word for yourself or yourselves See yourself
you should get you a wife now
noun
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informal the personality of the person being addressed or something that expresses it
that hat isn't really you
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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.
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.
Maybe you do all your reading on a Kindle or tablet.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
“Before you can command a ship, a platoon, a flight of fighters,” he told graduates, “you must be able to command yourself.”
From Salon • May 24, 2026
“The altitude and conditions are different, but you have to love those big challenges. We’re really excited.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2026
“Even if the strait were to effectively open tomorrow, you can’t turn the faucet back on,” Angie Gildea, global head of oil and gas at KPMG, told MarketWatch in March.
From MarketWatch • May 24, 2026
Some days, you just can’t catch a break.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
