DictionaryAI

you

AUSYUH/jə/YOO/ju/

6 meanings of you

Practice

  1. 1
    whoever is addressedpronounsubjective
    The person or people being spoken or written to, used as the subject or object of a verb or after a preposition.

    Are you coming with us, Anna?

    You could have told me sooner.

    UsageTakes are and were even for one person: you were (not incorrect: you was).

    Note

    An object form climbed into the subject slot, then pushed out the familiar singular. Once a respectful way to address one person, it became the standard. The verb kept its plural shape, so even a single hearer takes are, as in 'You are right, Fanny' from Jane Austen's Mansfield Park. With an article and an adjective, you can also stand for a person's self or character: the real you, a whole new you.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

  2. 2
    pronoun
    Used to mean anyone, one, or people in general, including to say what is usual or can be found ('You find these beetles under bark').

    In those days you could buy a house for a year's wages.

    The mountain air makes you sleepy.

    UsageOne is the formal choice; do not switch between you and one within a sentence.

    Similarone

    Note

    The address to the hearer is only nominal: what is said holds for anybody. Mary Shelley's mountain path has 'windings, which enable you to surmount' the slope, and that means any climber, not the reader.

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Mary Shelley's Frankenstein contains the quoted description of a mountain path; its 'you' refers generically to someone making the ascent. gutenberg.org
  3. 3
    determiner
    Used before a noun or epithet to address or describe the person or people spoken to, often in exclamations ('you Londoners', 'you lucky thing').

    You Londoners never carry an umbrella.

    You boys can carry the chairs.

    Note

    A pronoun can take a noun that spells out exactly who is addressed: 'Have you gentlemen come to see the lady…?' With a plain class noun such as students, Londoners or gentlemen, the phrase names a group rather than judging it. Put an epithet in that slot instead, as in 'you idiot', and the same shape becomes an emphatic exclamation.

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • The quotation 'Have you gentlemen come to see the lady…?' is accurately worded. saesfrance.org

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    oneselfpronouncolloquialUSreflexive
    Yourself, yourselves, or for yourself.

    Y'all get you a plate and sit down.

    Go find you a good spot by the window.

    Similaryourself, yourselves

    Note

    English once had a reflexive that needed no -self. Shakespeare's 'repose you at the Tower' and the Bible's 'get you out of this place' were ordinary usage. The pattern lives on in American colloquial speech, as in 'pull you up a chair', where it usually means 'for yourself' rather than a true reflexive.

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • English formerly used ordinary personal pronouns reflexively without adding -self. lrc.la.utexas.edu
    • The quotation occurs in Shakespeare's Richard III, Act III, scene 1, spoken by Gloucester to Prince Edward. shakespeare.mit.edu
    • The biblical quotation occurs in Genesis 19:14 in the King James Version, spoken by Lot to his sons-in-law. en.wikisource.org
    • Using simple personal pronouns reflexively was an established English construction. gutenberg.org
  2. 5
    verbtransitive
    To address someone with the pronoun 'you', historically in contrast to the familiar 'thou'.

    Children were taught to you their parents but to thou their brothers and sisters.

    In the play, the young lord youed the duke with care but thoued his old servant without a thought.

    Note

    Its home is history, in the choice between you and thou when you was the more formal word, but writers stretch it. A 1930 conversation guide uses youing for flattery, steering every remark toward the listener. A 2004 story has someone 'getting all youed up' by attentive address.

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • Historically, you was more formal than thou. en.wikipedia.org
    • The guide describes youing as flattery through directing conversation toward the listener. zh.wiktionary.org
    • The story containing the quotation was published in 2004. akashicbooks.com
    • Ellen Miller’s “Practicing” contains the exact phrase “getting all youed up,” describing someone receiving attentive address. zh.wiktionary.org
  3. 6
    sports teampronouncolloquial
    A person's favorite sports team, addressed as if the fan were a member of it.

    When I wore my team's cap to work, a coworker laughed and said, "You guys looked terrible last night."

    You beat us last week, but we'll get you next time.

    UsageFans say we for their team and you for yours: we'll get you next time.

    Note

    Talking to a supporter, people address the team through the person. 'You have been on the receiving end of losing seasons' means the club has lost, not the fan.

Practice

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Origin

"You" comes from Middle English you (the object form of ye), from Old English ēow, the dative of ġē. It traces back through Proto-West Germanic and Proto-Germanic to Proto-Indo-European *yúHs ("you," plural), and is cognate with Dutch jou/u, German euch, Latin vōs, and Sanskrit yūyám.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 7 facts