imma

I1M3M3A1
US/ˈaɪmə/US[ˈaːmə]

A form of I'm

OriginEnglish gonna ← Middle English to ← Old English tō →
UncommonScrabble 8
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Meanings

imma1

contraction
  1. contractionAlternative letter-case form of Imma.

    "So I'm like, if you guys don't want to pay attention to me, then imma make you pay attention to me."

    2022 November 7, Tony Lopez, quoting Alexander Pigee, “He nearly burnt down Roseville Galleria 12 years ago and now he's telling his story”, in CBS News

Imma2

contraction

alternative I'mma · alternative imma · alternative I'ma · alternative i'ma · alternative Ima · alternative ima · alternative Ima' · alternative I'm a · alternative I'm a' · alternative i'm a' · alternative I'm'a · alternative i'm'a · alternative I'm-a

  1. USabbreviationcolloquialcontractionAfrican-American VernacularContraction of I'm + gonna.

    So Imma say 16 or 17, cool.

    2 more examples

    Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you, Imma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!

    2009, Kanye West, MTV Video Music Awards, Kanye West (actor)

    I told you we should have gone with the mermaid costume. I'mma put this on -- 'cause I'm going to the race cause I feel better.

    2017, Frankie Pamplemousse, “The No-Kart Race”, in The ZhuZhus

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*éǵh₂
  2. Proto-Indo-European*e-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*eǵh₂óm
  4. Proto-Germanic*eka
  5. Proto-Germanic*ek
  6. Proto-West Germanic*ik
  7. Old Englishiċ
  8. Middle Englishik, ich, ī
  9. EnglishI
  10. Proto-Indo-European*h₁es-
  11. Proto-Indo-European*h₁ésmi
  12. Proto-Germanic*immi
  13. Proto-West Germanic*im
  14. Old Englisheom
  15. Middle Englisham
  16. Englisham
  17. EnglishI'm
  18. Englishgoing
  19. Proto-Indo-European*de
  20. Proto-Indo-European*doh₁
  21. Proto-Germanic*tō
  22. Proto-West Germanic*tō
  23. Old Englishtō
  24. Middle Englishto
  25. Englishto
  26. Englishgonna
  27. EnglishImma

/ˈaɪm ɡənə/ → /ˈaɪmənə/ → /ˈaɪmnə/ → /ˈaɪmə/ Written form of a relaxed pronunciation of I'm gonna. Includes a reduction of /mn/ to /m/ (see reduction of /mb/ and /mn/ on Wikipedia). Common in and possibly originated in African-American Vernacular English, but is used more broadly today. According to m'Cheaux, it originated in Gullah, where "-a" replaces "-ing" and indicates immediate future tense.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with imma

limasimaJemimarimacymaRoraimaarapaimatryma
All rhymes →

Anagrams

imammamimaimMima
Cite this entry
APA

imma. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/imma

MLA

“imma.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/imma. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “imma,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/imma.

Source: imma on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.