you-all

American

[yoo-awl, yawl, yoo-awl] / yuˈɔl, yɔl, ˈyuˌɔl /

pronoun

Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S.

you (used in direct address to two or more people).

You-all come back now, hear?
Tell your mother it's time you-all came to visit us.

you-all British

pronoun

a US, esp Southern, word for you, used esp when addressing more than one person

"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

Usage

See you, y'all.

Etymology

Origin of you-all

An Americanism dating back to 1815–25; you ( def. ) + all ( def. )

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.

Hominy grits, served with eggs at breakfast or within any other meal are a guarantor of beauty, nutrition and happy days, you-all.

From Time Magazine Archive

Together, Fields and Crosby add certain novel elements to Mississippi's "you-all," hoop skirt & julep plot as taken from a Booth Tarkington play.

From Time Magazine Archive

"You know, boys," drawled he, "I didn't sleep well last night, worryin' about you-all and how there's not much news."

From Time Magazine Archive

Lovick P. Thomas New Orleans State of Mind Don't you-all know the South is not a location but a state of mind.

From Time Magazine Archive

“Now, don’t you-all fight,” my father said, laughing.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

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