DictionaryAI

your

determiner
YOR/jɔɹ/YAW/jɔː(ɹ)/

Often confused with you're

4 meanings of your

Practice

  1. 1
    person spoken todeterminer
    Belonging to or associated with the person or people being spoken or written to.

    Please bring your passport tomorrow.

    Your mother called while you were out.

    UsageYour bag, but you're (you are) late. With no noun after it, use yours (not incorrect: your's).

    Note

    This use began as a plural: Old English ēower was the 'your' spoken to several people, and German euer still keeps that plural meaning. English now uses the one form for one owner or many, so 'your cat' can belong to one person or a whole family.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

  2. 2
    determiner
    One's; belonging to or affecting people generally, or anyone at all, not specifically the listener.

    Smoking damages your lungs long before you notice any symptoms.

    In this city, your rent can easily eat up half of what you earn.

    UsageThe everyday choice where formal writing might use one's: good for your heart.

    Similarone's

    Note

    The possessive of generic you, speaking of anyone at all: smoking damages your lungs. The listener is not singled out, so a remark like your rent can eat half your pay describes life in a city, not the listener's own budget.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

  3. 3
    well-known typedeterminer
    Used to mark a familiar or typical example, with no actual person addressed.

    It was your standard hotel breakfast.

    She is not your ordinary teacher.

    UsageOften in not your average or your typical: not your ordinary teacher.

    Note

    Here no one is really addressed. The speaker appeals to a type the listener already knows.

Less common meaning

  1. 4
    that guy (Irish)determinerIreland
    That, or the person we both know of, nearly always in 'your man' and 'your one', with no possession meant.

    In Dublin, my aunt nodded toward a stranger at the bus stop and said, "Your man there has been waiting an hour."

    Hearing the singer on the radio, my Irish friend said, "Your one has a lovely voice, but I can't stand her songs."

    Similarthat

    Note

    This is a pointing word of Irish English. 'Your man' and 'your one' pick out a person both speakers can identify, often someone in view ('your one over there'). Nothing is owned, and the listener need not know the name, only who is meant. It shares the idea of mutual knowledge with the 'familiar type' use, but it singles out one individual rather than a kind.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

Practice

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Origin

This developed from Middle English "your" (also spelled "youre" or "ȝoure"), from Old English "ēower," the plural form meaning "your," going back to Proto-West Germanic "*iuwar" and Proto-Germanic "*izweraz." It is related to Dutch "jouw," German "euer," and Danish "jeres."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

  • Your developed from Middle English your, also spelled youre or ȝoure, from Old English ēower meaning plural your, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *iuwar and Proto-Germanic *izweraz. en.wiktionary.org
  • Your is related to Dutch jouw through their shared Germanic ancestry. en.wiktionary.org
  • Your is related to German euer and Danish jeres. en.wiktionary.org