Words starting with Y — 142 entries

The 142 dictionary words that begin with the letter Y, in alphabetical order, each with its first definition. Accents do not affect filing: an accented initial is shelved under its base letter.

• y1 senseThe twenty-fifth letter of the English alphabet, called wy or wye and written in the Latin script.
• Y6 sensesThe twenty-fifth letter of the English alphabet, called wye and written in the Latin script.
• ya6 sensesYeah; yes.
• Ya1 senseA surname from Tamil.
• yacht3 sensesA slick and light ship for making pleasure trips or racing on water, having sails but often motor-powered. At times used as a residence offshore on a…
• Yacht1 senseA type of dice game, similar to the Latin American game Generala.
• yah3 sensesYes.
• yahoo5 sensesA rough, coarse, loud or uncouth individual.
• Yahoo3 sensesOne of a race of brutes, who look and act similar to men, inhabiting the same land as the civilized Houyhnhnms.
• yak10 sensesAn ox-like mammal native to the Himalayas, Mongolia, Myanmar, and Tibet with dark, long, and silky hair, a horse-like tail, and a full, bushy mane.
• yakuza2 sensesA Japanese organized crime gang.
• yale1 senseA mythical beast in European mythology and heraldry, usually portrayed as an antelope- or goatlike four-legged creature with large horns that it can…
• Yale9 sensesA university in the eastern United States.
• yam10 sensesAny climbing vine of the genus Dioscorea in the Eastern and Western hemispheres, usually cultivated.
• Yam1 senseA surname.
• Yamada1 senseA surname from Japanese.
• Yamamoto3 sensesA surname from Japanese, one of the 10 most common in Japan.
• Yamato8 sensesAny of several towns in Japan; see Wikipedia.
• yan3 sensesOne.
• Yan6 sensesA mountain chain in northeastern China.
• yang4 sensesA principle in Chinese and related East Asian philosophies associated with bright, hot, masculine, etc. elements of the natural world.
• Yang3 sensesA surname from Chinese of various origins.
• yank5 sensesA sudden, vigorous pull (sometimes defined as mass times jerk, or rate of change of force).
• Yank4 sensesA native or inhabitant of some part of the United States. Someone from the northern United States.
• yankee1 senseA headsail resembling a genoa or a jib but with a high-cut clew, normally used together with a staysail. A sailing boat is typically equipped with…
• Yankee9 sensesA native or inhabitant of some part of the United States: A native or inhabitant of the northern United States.
• Yankees1 senseThe team New York Yankees.
• Yao5 sensesA Bantu people living in Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania in Africa.
• yapping2 sensesA sound that yaps, especially the continued barking of a small dog.
• yard21 sensesA small, usually uncultivated area adjoining or (now especially) within the precincts of a house or other building.
• Yard3 sensesScotland Yard or New Scotland Yard
• yards1 senseThe totality of the sailing rig.
• yarn4 sensesA twisted strand of fibre used for knitting or weaving.
• Yates8 sensesA surname.
• yawn7 sensesTo open the mouth widely and take a long, rather deep breath, often because one is tired or bored, and sometimes accompanied by pandiculation.
• Yawn1 senseA surname.
• yawning3 sensesThe action of the verb yawn.
• yay2 sensesAn expression of happiness.
• Yay1 senseA branch of the Tai language family, spoken by the Bouyei and Giáy people.
• ye5 sensesYou (the people being addressed).
• Ye2 sensesA surname from Chinese.
• yea5 sensesYes, indeed.
• Yea1 senseA town in the Shire of Murrindindi, central eastern Victoria, Australia.
• yeah4 sensesYes.
• year11 sensesA period of time akin to the time taken for the Earth to undergo a full cycle of seasons.
• year-old2 sensesOf the age of one year.
• yearbook3 sensesA reference book, published annually.
• yearn13 sensesTo have a strong desire for something or to do something; to long for or to do something.
• yearning2 sensesA wistful or melancholy longing.
• years1 senseA very long time.
• yeast11 sensesAn often humid, yellowish froth produced by fermenting malt worts, and used to brew beer, leaven bread, and also used in certain medicines.
• Yeast1 senseA surname.
• yee2 sensesYou (the people being addressed); alternative spelling of ye.
• Yee1 senseA surname from Chinese.
• Yeh1 senseA surname from Chinese [in turn from Mandarin].
• yell6 sensesTo shout; holler; make a loud sound with the voice, especially to express intense emotions such as anger or excitement.
• Yell3 sensesThe second-largest island in the Shetland Islands council area, Scotland.
• yelling1 senseThe act of producing a yell.
• yellow19 sensesThe color of sunflower petals and lemons; the color obtained by mixing green and red light, or by subtracting blue from white light; the color evoked…
• Yellow1 senseA surname.
• Yellowstone3 sensesA national park of the USA, located in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.
• yen5 sensesThe unit of Japanese currency (symbol: ¥) since 1871, divided into 100 sen.
• yep2 sensesYes.
• Yep1 senseA surname from Cantonese.
• yer1 senseEither of the letters ъ and ь in Cyrillic alphabets, which originally represented phonemically the ultra-short vowels in Slavic languages.
• Yer1 senseA member of Generation Y.
• yes13 sensesUsed to show agreement or acceptance.
• yesterday4 sensesThe day immediately before today; one day ago.
• yet12 sensesThus far; up to the present; up to some unspecified time. In negative or interrogative use, often with an expectation or potential of something…
• Yeung1 senseA surname from Cantonese.
• Yi4 sensesAn ethnic group who live primarily in mountainous areas of southwest China.
• yield22 sensesTo give as a result or outcome; to produce or render.
• yikes2 sensesExpression of shock and alarm.
• yin2 sensesA principle in Chinese and related East Asian philosophies associated with dark, cool, female, etc. elements of the natural world.
• Yin3 sensesA surname.
• Ying4 sensesA surname from Mandarin.
• yip2 sensesa sharp, high-pitched bark
• Yip1 senseA surname from Cantonese.
• yo7 sensesA greeting similar to hi.
• YO2 sensesAbbreviation of yarnover. A technique in which the yarn is passed over the right-hand needle. In general, the new loop is knitted on the next row,…
• yo-yo7 sensesA toy consisting of a spheroidal or cylindrical spindle having a circular groove in which string is wound; it is used by holding the string in the…
• Yoda2 sensesA wise, elderly Jedi Master in the Star Wars franchise.
• yoga2 sensesAny of several Hindu or Buddhist disciplines aimed at training the consciousness for a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquillity;…
• Yoga1 senseOne of the six schools of Hindu philosophy.
• yogi3 sensesA devotee or adherent of yoga.
• yogurt2 sensesA milk-based product stiffened by a bacterium-aided curdling process, and sometimes mixed with fruit or other flavoring.
• Yoko1 senseA female given name from Japanese.
• Yolanda1 senseA female given name from Spanish.
• yonder6 sensesAt or in a distant but indicated place.
• Yong2 sensesA surname.
• Yoo1 senseA surname.
• Yoon1 senseA surname from Korean.
• york2 sensesto bowl a yorker at a batsman, especially to get a batsman out in this way.
• York30 sensesA placename: A town and local government area (the Shire of York), in the Wheatbelt region, Western Australia.
• yorker1 senseA ball bowled so as to bounce at or near the batsman's popping crease.
• Yorker2 sensesSomeone from York, England.
• Yorkshire4 sensesEngland's largest county. Situated in the northeast of England; divided into three ridings, (North, West and East, and The City Of York). Since 1974…
• Yoshida1 senseA surname from Japanese.
• you13 sensesThe people spoken, or written to, as an object.
• You3 sensesA surname from Chinese
• young12 sensesIn the early part of growth or life; born not long ago.
• Young12 sensesA surname. A British distinguishing surname transferred from the nickname for the younger of two people having the same given name.
• younger2 sensesSynonym of junior.
• Younger1 senseA surname.
• youngest3 sensesMost recently begun or formed.
• youngster1 senseA young person.
• your4 sensesBelonging to you; of you; related to you (singular; one owner).
• yours3 sensesThat or those belonging to you; the possessive second-person singular pronoun used without a following noun.
• yourself3 sensesYour own self (singular).
• yourselves1 senseYou (plural), used to intensify the subject as the group addressed.
• yous3 sensesYou.
• Youse1 senseA surname from German.
• youth5 sensesThe quality or state of being young.
• youthful2 sensesYoung or seeming young.
• YouTube8 sensesA video-sharing website.
• yu3 sensesAn ancient Chinese wine-bucket, often having a decorative cover.
• Yu4 sensesSynonym of You; A surname from Mandarin.
• yuan2 sensesThe basic unit of money in China.
• Yuan3 sensesThe Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China from 1279 to 1368.
• yuck10 sensesUttered to indicate disgust usually toward an objectionable taste or odour.
• yue2 sensesAn ancient Chinese unit of volume, notionally equivalent to the space occupied by 1200 millet seeds.
• Yue5 sensesThe modern variety of Chinese, which includes Cantonese and Taishanese.
• yuen1 senseA crowned gibbon or pileated gibbon (Hylobates pileatus)
• Yuen1 senseA surname.
• Yugoslavia5 sensesA former country in Southeastern Europe in the Balkans, now split into 6 countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro,…
• Yuki4 sensesA Native American people from northern California.
• yuko1 senseThe score for a throw that lands the opponent on his or her side.
• Yuko1 senseA female given name from Japanese.
• yum3 sensesIndicating delight at the flavor of food.
• Yum1 senseA surname.
• yumi1 senseA type of archery bow from Japan.
• Yumi1 senseA female given name from Japanese.
• yummy1 senseDelicious.
• Yun3 sensesA surname from Mandarin.
• Yung1 senseA surname.
• yup2 sensesA yes; an affirmative answer.
• yuri1 senseA narrative or visual work featuring a romantic or sexual relationship between women.
• Yuri2 sensesA transliteration of the Russian male given name Ю́рий (Júrij), equivalent to George.
• Yusuf3 sensesJoseph, a prophet in Islam.
• Yves1 senseA male given name from French
• Yvette2 sensesA female given name from French borrowed from French in the nineteenth century.
• Yvonne1 senseA female given name from French borrowed from France, in regular use since the twentieth century.