DictionaryAI

you

AUSYUH/jə/YOO/ju/

6 meanings of you

Practice

  1. 1
    whoever is addressedpronounsubjective
    The person or people you are talking or writing to.

    Can you help me carry these bags to the car?

    Where were you last night?

    UsageSay you are, you were (not incorrect: you was).

    Note
  2. 2
    pronoun
    Anyone or people in general, as in 'You can't buy a house that cheap now.'

    Like 'one' in 'one never knows', but in everyday clothes.

    You never know what the weather will do here.

    The trail has switchbacks, so you can climb the steep slope more easily.

    UsageOne is more formal than you when talking about people in general.

    Similarone

    Note
  3. 3
    determiner
    Used before a word that describes the person you are talking to, as in 'you idiot!'

    Come here, you silly dog, and stop chewing my shoes!

    Are you kids going to help or not?

    Note

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    oneselfpronouncolloquialUSreflexive
    Used, mostly in US casual speech, instead of 'yourself' or 'yourselves'.

    Go pour you a glass of tea and sit with us.

    Get you a coffee before the meeting starts.

    Similaryourself, yourselves

    Note
  2. 5
    verbtransitive
    To speak to someone using 'you', especially instead of the old familiar 'thou'.

    The Quakers refused to you anyone, even the king.

    In the old days, servants youed their masters as a sign of respect.

    Note
  3. 6
    sports teampronouncolloquial
    Used to mean the team a person supports, as if they were on it.

    I teased my football-crazy uncle: "You lost again on Sunday!"

    Did you win last night? I mean the Lions, of course.

    UsageFans say we won and you lost.

    Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of you apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

"You" comes from Old English ēow, an old form of "you." It goes all the way back to Proto-Indo-European and is related to words like Latin vōs and German euch.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts