|
|
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026Y, y /waɪ/USA pronunciation
n. [countable], pl. Ys or Y's, ys or y's.
- Linguisticsthe 25th letter of the English alphabet, a semivowel.
Y /waɪ/USA pronunciation
- Chemistry, Informal Terms, Currencyn. [countable] the Y, [Informal.]the YMCA, YWCA, YMHA, or YWHA.
-y1 ,suffix.
- -y is used to form adjectives with the meaning "having, showing, or similar to (the substance or action of the word or stem)'':blood + -y → bloody; sexy;squeaky.
-y2 ,suffix.
- -y is used to form nouns
- that bring or add a meaning of dearness or familiarity to the noun or adjective root, as proper names, names of pets, or in baby talk:Bill + -y → Billy; bird + -ie → birdie;sweetie.
- that are informal, new, or intended to be new;
sometimes these have slightly unpleasant meanings or associations:boondocks → boon- + -ies → boonies; Okie (a person from Oklahoma);preemie (= a premature baby);rookie.
- -y is attached to adjectives to form nouns, often with the meaning that the noun is an extreme (good or bad) example of the adjective or quality:bad + -ie → baddie; toughie;sharpie;sickie;
whitey.
Compare -o.
-y3 ,suffix.
- -y is attached to verbs to form nouns of action, and certain other abstract nouns:inquire + -y → inquiry;in + fame + -y → infamy.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026Y, y
(wī),USA pronunciation n., pl. Y's or Ys, y's or ys.
- Linguisticsthe 25th letter of the English alphabet, a semivowel.
- Linguisticsany spoken sound represented by the letter Y or y, as in yet, city, or rhythm.
- something having the shape of a
- a written or printed representation of the letter Y or y.
- a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter Y or y.
Y
(wī),USA pronunciation
- Chemistry, Informal Terms, Currency the Y, [Informal.]the YMCA, YWCA, YMHA, or YWHA.
Y ,- yen1 (def. 1).
Y ,[Symbol.]
- the 25th in order or in a series, or, when I is omitted, the 24th.
- (sometimes l.c.) the medieval Roman numeral for 150. Cf. Roman numerals.
- (sometimes l.c.) [Elect.]admittance.
- [Chem.]yttrium.
- Biochemistrytyrosine.
y ,[Symbol,][Math.]
- an unknown quantity.
- (in Cartesian coordinates) the y-axis.
y- ,
- a prefix occurring in certain obsolete words (ywis) and esp. in archaic past participles:yclad.Also, i-.
- 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 perh. Latin com- com-
- 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; rumbly;dreamy.
Also, -ey 1.
- Old English -ig; cognate with German -ig; compare perh. Latin -icus, Greek -ikos
- 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 -y 2 (-ie) is to form from adjectives 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 -y 2 (-ie) has been lost are now standard in formal written English (goalie;
movie).
Also, -ie. Cf. -o, -sy.
- late Middle English (Scots), origin, originally in names; of uncertain origin, originally; baby and puppy, now felt as having this suffix, may be of different derivation
- a suffix of various origins used in the formation of action nouns from verbs (inquiry), also found in other abstract nouns:carpentry; infamy.
- representing Latin -ia, -ium; Greek -ia, -eia, -ion; French -ie; German -ie
- yard;
yards.
- Timeyear;
years.
'Y, y' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Forum discussions with the word(s) "Y, y" in the title: -like, -wise, -y
'j' for 'y' in loanwords: Is there a rule?
'the X of the Y' / When you put 'the' before and after 'of'?
“You are as good as X at Y” or “You are as good at Y as X”?
(number of) X, and another (different number of) Y
(Subjunctive?) This X requires that the Y only depend on Z.
(X) might do so quickly that (Y) was/would be/might be/could be
[pronunciation] Drop "Y"?
[the main difference of X from Y] or [the main difference between X and Y]?
[X] is to [Y] what/as [Z] is to [W]
[Y] at the beginning of a sentence when written by a pen or pencil.
/j/ in IPA for the "y" sound?
∂y/∂x (pronunciation)
35% of X users are interested, which is lower than that of Y users interested
3rd person with verbs ending in y
a / an Y-shaped bridge
a / the consortium consisting of X, Y, and Z won a tender...
A chill<y> wind
a confounding factor... is the cause of X and Y (Statistics)
a consortium in which Y has a 55 per cent stake, and X holds the rest (of shares?)
a critique of X that supports Y
A dark cruise-y leather bar [cruise-y?]
a gift from X to Y' to mean 'a gift given by X to Y
A is more like to B than X is to Y
A number of X were killed…and a number of Y.
A thorough X and Y, was or were?
a trade union representing workers of X, a subsidiary of Y, has accused the company
A.s.c.b.a.m.a.y.k.
a/the Dutch organisation(,) Y(,)
a/the X accent vs the Y language
more...
Look up "Y, y" at Merriam-Webster
Look up "Y, y" at dictionary.com
- Go to Preferences page and choose from different actions for taps or mouse clicks.
In other languages: Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | German | Dutch | Swedish | Russian | Polish | Czech | Greek | Turkish | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | Arabic
|
|
