u

uppercase U · plural us · plural u's

1. letterlowercaseThe twenty-first letter of the English alphabet, called u and written in the Latin script.

   I prefer the u in Arial to the one in Times New Roman.

plural ues · alternative you

1. The name of the Latin script letter U/u.
2. A thing in the shape of the letter U.

determiner possessive ur · possessive pronoun without noun urs · reflexive singular urself · plural reflexive urselves

1. Internetabbreviationnominativeobjectivepluralsecond personsingularAbbreviation of you.

   t8k me w u

   2 more examples

   "(W)ho knows I wanted her dead? cuz i only told u and (D.B.) so unless u told someone ..."

   2009 March 10, Rosie DiManno, “Murder reduced to infantile online postings”, in Toronto Star, archived from the original on 13 Mar 2009

   What r u doing? Jacquie texted Opal. She put her phone on the bed and went to her suitcase to get her swimsuit.

   2018, Tommy Orange, “Jacquie Red Feather”, in There There, New York, N.Y.: Vintage Books, →ISBN, page 100

1. abbreviationAbbreviation of underwater.

lowercase u · plural Us · plural U's

1. letteruppercaseThe twenty-first letter of the English alphabet, called u and written in the Latin script.
2. Something shaped like the letter U:
   1. letteruppercaseA U-turn ('turned a U in the road')
   2. letteruppercaseagricultureA double upright cordon espalier (also double U, triple U).

1. A U-turn.

   Do a U across the divider and get on back here to the office.

   2003, Tony Hillerman, The Sinister Pig, →ISBN, page 115

2. abbreviationAbbreviation of university.
3. abbreviationAbbreviation of Sunday.
4. UKA film with the film classification U (“universal”).

comparative Uer · superlative Uest

1. UKabbreviationcomparabledatednot comparableusuallyAbbreviation of upper class (“characteristic of the upper classes, particularly in the use of language”).

   To TAKE a bath is non-U against U to HAVE one’s bath.

   [1956], Alan S. C. Ross, “U and non-U”, in David Milsted, Brewer’s Anthology of England and the English, page 120

   5 more examples

   I may also note here that the U-demarcation is of two types: – (1) a certain U-feature has a different, non-U counterpart as non-U wealthy / U rich; (2) a certain feature is confined to U-speech and it has a counterpart which is not confined to non-U speech e.g. the pronunciations of girl as [ɡɛl], (? [ɡjɛl]), [ɡæl], [ɡɛəl] are U, but many (perhaps most male) U-speakers, like all non-U-speakers, use the pronunciation [ɡəːl].

   Modern Language Communications

   1954, Alan S[trode] C[ampbell] Ross, “Linguistic Class-indicators in Present-day English”, in Neuphilologische Mitteilungen [Modern Language Communications], volume 55, number 1, Helsinki: Modern Language Society, →ISSN, →JSTOR, →OCLC, archived from the original on 15 Apr 2015, page 24

   In a treatise that still causes ripples in English society, Mitford defined various terms as either U (upper class) or non-U.

   1956, Nancy Mitford, Noblesse Oblige: an Inquiry into the Identifiable Characteristics of the English Aristocracy

   Pudding when used to mean all sweet dishes at the end of a meal is non-U; the U expression is sweet.

   1956 February 25, Thought, volume 8, Delhi: Siddhartha Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 16, column 1

   A wedding is a great occasion for u/non-u indicators. The u mother will be quietly dressed; the non-u one will be more ostentatious and have a corsage. The u father will be wearing his own morning coat and a carnation. The non-u father will bolster his carnation—on his hired morning coat—with a sprig of fern, and perhaps even carry a pair of grey gloves.

   1968 August 21, “U and Non-U Today: 2. Actions”, in New Society: The Social Science Weekly, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 267, column 2

   The U/non-U priority rule will be in accord with servant master-type rules if masters are U and servants are non-U, for then the rules support each other. But since a master who cannot command is not a master, a non-U sergeant must take priority over a U-recruit, the same with impoverished aristocratic chauffeurs working for nouveau-riche plebeian millionaires.

   1976, J[an] T. J. Srzednicki, “Structure of Beliefs and Group Structure”, in Elements of Social and Political Philosophy (Melbourne International Philosophy Series; 2), The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →DOI, →ISBN, page 135

   Antonyms: non-U

2. abbreviationnot comparableusuallyAbbreviation of united.
3. abbreviationnot comparableusuallyAbbreviation of upper.
4. not comparableusuallyeducationUsually in parentheses: abbreviation of unclassified.
5. UKabbreviationnot comparableusuallybroadcastingAbbreviation of universal (“suitable for all ages”), in a film certificate.

1. abbreviationhobbiesAbbreviation of under.

   In 1992 Susan Lockhart was Captain of the England U16 Hockey Squad.

   2013, Pam Mansell, The Girls of Southend High School 1913-2013: A Century for Women

2. abbreviationAbbreviation of up.

1. An Austroasiatic language spoken in China.

   Synonyms: P'uman

1. alternativeAlternative form of Ü (“Tibetan language”).

   Among the settled communities of Central Tibet, the Tsang dialect as spoken in Shigatse and the U dialect as spoken in Lhasa hold the field.

   1924, William Montgomery McGovern, To Lhasa in Disguise: A Secret Expedition Through Mysterious Tibet

plural Us

1. An honorific to a Burmese man

   U Thant; U Nu