after you

phrase

A gesture, usually polite, urging another person to take a turn at something ahead of the speaker.

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Meanings

phrase
  1. A gesture, usually polite, urging another person to take a turn at something ahead of the speaker.

    After you. I insist. And then that sharklike smile.

    2005, Keith Dixon, Ghostfires: A Novel, page 4
    2 more examples

    [Beaufort commands him to go in] No, no, after you, Baron-I insist!

    1840, William Dimond, Englishmen in India; a comic opera, in three acts, etc., page 73

    We greeted each other when we met in the hallway, from time to time we waited for the elevator together, hands folded behind our backs—no, no, after you, please! No, after you!

    2007, Paul Verhaeghen, Omega Minor, page 145

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 您先請 /您先请, 您先
  • 您先請 /您先请 (nín xiān qǐng)polite invitation for another to go first
  • 您先 (nín xiān)polite invitation for another to go first
Dutch na u
  • na upolite invitation for another to go first
Finnish teidän jälkeenne, sinun jälkeesi
  • teidän jälkeennepolite invitation for another to go first
  • sinun jälkeesipolite invitation for another to go first
French après vous
  • après vouspolite invitation for another to go first
German nach Ihnen
  • nach Ihnenpolite invitation for another to go first
Greek περάστε, περάστε πρώτος
  • περάστε (peráste)polite invitation for another to go first
  • περάστε πρώτος (peráste prótos)polite invitation for another to go first
Hindi पहले आप
  • पहले आप (pahle āp)polite invitation for another to go first
Italian dopo di te
  • dopo di tepolite invitation for another to go first
Persian بفرمایید
  • بفرماییدpolite invitation for another to go first
Polish proszę przodem, proszę
  • proszę przodempolite invitation for another to go first
  • proszępolite invitation for another to go first
Russian по́сле вас
  • по́сле вас (pósle vas)polite invitation for another to go first
Cite this entry
APA

after you. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/after%20you

MLA

“after you.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/after%20you. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “after you,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/after%20you.

Source: after you on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.