Nouns That Start With U

123 words Words by letter Checked 9 Oct 2026

These nouns that start with U come from a standard English dictionary used for word games, ranked by how often each word is used in everyday writing. There are 123 nouns starting with U on this page. The 100 most common come first, each with a short meaning, followed by shorter, longer and easier picks and a filter for any ending or length.

U has 123 nouns, and a lot of them begin with un, uni or under. Uniform, unit, unity, universe and university share the uni root, which links to the idea of one.

For young learners, umbrella and uncle are the friendliest choices. Underwear always gets a laugh in class. Undergraduate and undertaking show how the under prefix can build long but readable words.

Nouns starting with U: 123
Most used: us
Longest common one: understatement 14 letters

Most common nouns that start with U

Ranked by how often the word appears in English text. "Type" is the word's main part of speech.

#	Word	Meaning	Type
1	us	North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in...	noun
2	university	the body of faculty and students at a university	noun
3	union	an organization of employees formed to bargain with the employer	noun
4	unit	any division of quantity accepted as a standard of measurement or exchange	noun
5	understanding	the cognitive condition of someone who understands	noun
6	user	a person who makes use of a thing; someone who uses or employs something	noun
7	un	an organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security	noun
8	universe	everything that exists anywhere	noun
9	uncle	the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt	noun
10	uniform	clothing of distinctive design worn by members of a particular group as a means of identification	noun
11	utility	a company that performs a public service; subject to government regulation	noun
12	usage	the act of using	noun
13	unemployment	the state of being unemployed or not having a job	noun
14	unity	an undivided or unbroken completeness or totality with nothing wanting	noun
15	uncertainty	being unsettled or in doubt or dependent on chance	noun
16	upside	the highest or uppermost side of anything	noun
17	underwear	undergarment worn next to the skin and under the outer garments	noun
18	umbrella	a lightweight handheld collapsible canopy	noun
19	undergraduate	a university student who has not yet received a first degree	noun
20	uranium	a heavy toxic silvery-white radioactive metallic element	noun
21	uprising	organized opposition to authority; a conflict in which one faction tries to wrest control from another	noun
22	undertaking	any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted	noun
23	ut	the local time at the 0 meridian passing through Greenwich, England; it is the same everywhere	noun
24	urging	a verbalization that encourages you to attempt something	noun
25	unrest	a state of agitation or turbulent change or development	noun
26	ulster	a historic division of Ireland located in the northeastern part of the island	noun
27	urgency	the state of being urgent; an earnest and insistent necessity	noun
28	unicorn	an imaginary creature represented as a white horse with a long horn growing from its forehead	noun
29	ultrasound	very high frequency sound; used in ultrasonography	noun
30	utilization	the act of using	noun
31	underwood	the brush (small trees and bushes and ferns etc.) growing beneath taller trees in a wood or forest	noun
32	underworld	the criminal class	noun
33	upbringing	properties acquired during a person's formative years	noun
34	uterus	a hollow muscular organ in the pelvic cavity of females; contains the developing fetus	noun
35	utopia	a book written by Sir Thomas More (1516) describing the perfect society on an imaginary island	noun
36	umpire	an official at a baseball game	noun
37	understatement	a statement that is restrained in ironic contrast to what might have been said	noun
38	unification	an occurrence that involves the production of a union	noun
39	ultraviolet	radiation lying in the ultraviolet range; wave lengths shorter than light but longer than X rays	noun
40	underdog	one at a disadvantage and expected to lose	noun
41	unfolding	a developmental process	noun
42	usefulness	the quality of being of practical use	noun
43	uplifting	the rise of something	noun
44	uptown	a residential part of town away from the central commercial district	noun
45	unionist	a worker who belongs to a trade union	noun
46	uptake	the process of taking food into the body through the mouth (as by eating)	noun
47	unison	corresponding exactly	noun
48	ultimatum	a final peremptory demand	noun
49	underside	the lower side of anything	noun
50	unloading	the labor of taking a load of something off of or out of a vehicle or ship or container etc.	noun
51	upkeep	activity involved in maintaining something in good working order	noun
52	urn	a large vase that usually has a pedestal or feet	noun
53	uniqueness	the quality of being one of a kind	noun
54	undertaker	one whose business is the management of funerals	noun
55	uproar	a state of commotion and noise and confusion	noun
56	unhappiness	emotions experienced when not in a state of well-being	noun
57	upheaval	a state of violent disturbance and disorder (as in politics or social conditions generally)	noun
58	unwillingness	the trait of being unwilling	noun
59	undercut	the material removed by a cut made underneath	noun
60	undoing	an act that makes a previous act of no effect (as if not done)	noun
61	uncovering	the removal of covering	noun
62	urbanization	the condition of being urbanized	noun
63	ulcer	a circumscribed inflammatory and often suppurating lesion on the skin or an internal mucous surface resulting...	noun
64	uniformity	a condition in which everything is regular and unvarying	noun
65	umbilical	membranous duct connecting the fetus with the placenta	noun
66	ukulele	a small guitar having four strings	noun
67	ump	an official at a baseball game	noun
68	usability	the quality of being able to provide good service	noun
69	ugliness	qualities of appearance that do not give pleasure to the senses	noun
70	upholstery	covering (padding and springs and webbing and fabric) on a piece of furniture	noun
71	underpants	an undergarment that covers the body from the waist no further than to the thighs	noun
72	unitarian	adherent of Unitarianism	noun
73	undies	women's underwear	noun
74	undergrad	a university student who has not yet received a first degree	noun
75	urethra	no short meaning listed	noun
76	upstart	an arrogant or presumptuous person	noun
77	urea	no short meaning listed	noun
78	undersecretary	a secretary immediately subordinate to the head of a department of government	noun
79	unfairness	partiality that is not fair or equitable	noun
80	urology	the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the urinary tract or...	noun
81	uptick	a transaction in the stock market at a price above the price of the preceding transaction	noun
82	urchin	poor and often mischievous city child	noun
83	unease	physical discomfort (as mild sickness or depression)	noun
84	uptime	a period of time when something (as a machine or factory) is functioning and available for use	noun
85	urinal	no short meaning listed	noun
86	ultima	the last syllable in a word	noun
87	understudy	an actor able to replace a regular performer when required	noun
88	underbelly	lower side	noun
89	unpredictability	the quality of being guided by sudden unpredictable impulses	noun
90	universality	the quality of being universal; existing everywhere	noun
91	uplink	a transmission from Earth to a spacecraft or the path of such a transmission	noun
92	unionism	the system or principles and theory of labor unions	noun
93	urination	no short meaning listed	noun
94	utterance	the use of uttered sounds for auditory communication	noun
95	unconsciousness	a state lacking normal awareness of the self or environment	noun
96	uta	a reptile genus of Iguanidae	noun
97	upshot	a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon	noun
98	upsurge	a sudden forceful flow	noun
99	undercurrent	a subdued emotional quality underlying an utterance; implicit meaning	noun
100	undergrowth	the brush (small trees and bushes and ferns etc.) growing beneath taller trees in a wood or forest	noun

Positive nouns that start with U

unity
uplifting

Short nouns that start with U

us
union
unit
user
un
uncle
usage
unity
ut
urn
ulcer
ump
urea
uta
usury
uke

Long nouns that start with U

university
understanding
unemployment
uncertainty
undergraduate
undertaking
ultrasound
utilization
underworld
upbringing
understatement
unification
ultraviolet
usefulness
uniqueness
undertaker
unhappiness
unwillingness
uncovering
urbanization
uniformity
upholstery
underpants
undersecretary
unfairness
understudy
underbelly
unpredictability
universality
unconsciousness

Filter all 123 nouns that start with U

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Questions people ask

How many nouns start with U?

This list has 123 nouns starting with U, taken from a standard word-game dictionary and limited to words that appear in real English text.

What are the most common nouns that start with U?

us, university, union, unit, understanding, user, un, universe are the most used in everyday English.

What are some long nouns that start with U?

university, understanding, unemployment, uncertainty, underwear.

What are easy nouns that start with U for kids?

us, union, unit, user, un, uncle are short, everyday examples.

Source: the ENABLE word list (a public-domain dictionary used for word games), ranked by how often each word appears in English text (the open wordfreq project), with short meanings from Princeton WordNet. Offensive words are left out.

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