Words That Start With Y
These words that start with Y come from a standard English dictionary used for word games, ranked by how often each word is used in everyday writing. There are 114 words starting with Y 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.
Y is a small letter with 114 words, and its most common entries are all about you. "You" and "yourself" rank high, along with the time word "yesterday".
Casual replies sit here too: "yes" and the chattier "yep" make lively dialogue in stories. For children, "yellow" is an easy colour word to start with, and its double L is good spelling practice. Older writers might enjoy "yearning", a richer word for wanting something deeply.
- Words starting with Y
- 114
- Most used
- you
- Longest common one
- yourselves 10 letters
- Nouns, verbs, adjectives
- 60, 8, 14
Most common words that start with Y
Ranked by how often the word appears in English text. "Type" is the word's main part of speech.
| # | Word | Meaning | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | you | no short meaning listed | |
| 2 | your | no short meaning listed | |
| 3 | year | a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days | noun |
| 4 | years | a late time of life | noun |
| 5 | yet | up to the present time | adv. |
| 6 | yes | an affirmative | noun |
| 7 | young | (used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth | adj. |
| 8 | yeah | not only so, but | adv. |
| 9 | yourself | no short meaning listed | |
| 10 | yesterday | the day immediately before today | noun |
| 11 | yours | no short meaning listed | |
| 12 | youth | a young person (especially a young man or boy) | noun |
| 13 | yellow | of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum | adj. |
| 14 | younger | used of the younger of two persons of the same name especially used to distinguish a son from his father | adj. |
| 15 | ya | no short meaning listed | |
| 16 | yard | a unit of length equal to 3 feet | noun |
| 17 | yo | no short meaning listed | |
| 18 | yep | no short meaning listed | |
| 19 | yea | an affirmative | noun |
| 20 | ye | no short meaning listed | |
| 21 | yoga | no short meaning listed | noun |
| 22 | yield | be the cause or source of | verb |
| 23 | yup | no short meaning listed | |
| 24 | yelling | uttering a loud inarticulate cry as of pain or excitement | noun |
| 25 | yay | a branch of the Tai languages | noun |
| 26 | yang | the bright positive masculine principle in Chinese dualistic cosmology | noun |
| 27 | yearly | a reference book that is published regularly once every year | noun |
| 28 | yahoo | a person who is not very intelligent or interested in culture | noun |
| 29 | yourselves | no short meaning listed | |
| 30 | yell | utter a sudden loud cry | verb |
| 31 | yacht | an expensive vessel propelled by sail or power and used for cruising or racing | noun |
| 32 | yen | a yearning for something or to do something | noun |
| 33 | yuan | the basic unit of money in China | noun |
| 34 | yeast | a commercial leavening agent containing yeast cells | noun |
| 35 | yogurt | a custard-like food made from curdled milk | noun |
| 36 | yarn | the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events | noun |
| 37 | youthful | suggestive of youth; vigorous and fresh | adj. |
| 38 | yah | no short meaning listed | |
| 39 | yummy | extremely pleasing to the sense of taste | adj. |
| 40 | yum | no short meaning listed | |
| 41 | yearbook | a book published annually by the graduating class of a high school or college usually containing photographs... | noun |
| 42 | yikes | no short meaning listed | |
| 43 | yielding | inclined to yield to argument or influence or control | adj. |
| 44 | yin | the dark negative feminine principle in Chinese dualistic cosmology | noun |
| 45 | yeh | no short meaning listed | |
| 46 | youngster | a young person of either sex | noun |
| 47 | yelp | bark in a high-pitched tone | verb |
| 48 | yearning | prolonged unfulfilled desire or need | noun |
| 49 | yellowish | of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum | adj. |
| 50 | yogi | United States baseball player (born 1925) | noun |
| 51 | yak | noisy talk | noun |
| 52 | yoke | fabric comprising a fitted part at the top of a garment | noun |
| 53 | yawn | utter a yawn, as from lack of oxygen or when one is tired | verb |
| 54 | yuck | no short meaning listed | |
| 55 | yam | edible tuber of any of several yams | noun |
| 56 | yawning | gaping open as if threatening to engulf someone or something | adj. |
| 57 | yolk | the yellow spherical part of an egg that is surrounded by the albumen | noun |
| 58 | yew | wood of a yew | noun |
| 59 | yeti | a large hairy humanoid creature said to live in the Himalayas | noun |
| 60 | yoghurt | a custard-like food made from curdled milk | noun |
| 61 | yank | an American who lives in the North (especially during the American Civil War) | noun |
| 62 | yearn | desire strongly or persistently | verb |
| 63 | yonder | distant but within sight (`yon' is dialectal) | adj. |
| 64 | yap | bark in a high-pitched tone | verb |
| 65 | yonkers | no short meaning listed | |
| 66 | yaw | be wide open | verb |
| 67 | yom | no short meaning listed | |
| 68 | yon | distant but within sight (`yon' is dialectal) | adj. |
| 69 | yip | a sharp high-pitched cry (especially by a dog) | noun |
| 70 | yardage | distance measured in the aggregate number of yards | noun |
| 71 | yar | no short meaning listed | |
| 72 | yow | no short meaning listed | |
| 73 | yachting | water travel for pleasure | noun |
| 74 | yeoman | officer in the (ceremonial) bodyguard of the British monarch | noun |
| 75 | yuk | no short meaning listed | |
| 76 | yule | period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6 | noun |
| 77 | yardstick | a measure or standard used for comparison | noun |
| 78 | yearling | a young child | noun |
| 79 | yeshiva | no short meaning listed | noun |
| 80 | yucca | any of several evergreen plants of the genus Yucca having usually tall stout stems and a terminal cluster of... | noun |
| 81 | yore | time long past | noun |
| 82 | yesteryear | the time that has elapsed | noun |
| 83 | yarrow | ubiquitous strong-scented mat-forming Eurasian herb of wasteland, hedgerow or pasture having narrow serrate... | noun |
| 84 | yucky | highly offensive; arousing aversion or disgust | adj. |
| 85 | yurt | a circular domed dwelling that is portable and self-supporting | noun |
| 86 | yippee | no short meaning listed | |
| 87 | yuppie | a young upwardly mobile professional individual | noun |
| 88 | yearlong | lasting through a year | adj. |
| 89 | yuletide | period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6 | noun |
| 90 | yeomanry | class of small freeholders who cultivated their own land | noun |
| 91 | yerba | no short meaning listed | |
| 92 | yodel | a songlike cry in which the voice fluctuates rapidly between the normal voice and falsetto | noun |
| 93 | yogic | of or relating to yoga | adj. |
| 94 | yoni | no short meaning listed | |
| 95 | youse | no short meaning listed | |
| 96 | yellowfin | may reach 400 pounds; worldwide in tropics | noun |
| 97 | yellowtail | superior food fish of the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean with broad yellow stripe along the sides and on the... | noun |
| 98 | youthfulness | the freshness and vitality characteristic of a young person | noun |
| 99 | yagi | a sharply directional antenna | noun |
| 100 | yips | nervous tension that causes an athlete to fail (especially causes golfers to miss short putts) | noun |
Easy words that start with Y for kids
Everyday words most children meet early, good for spelling lists and word games.
- you
- your
- year
- years
- yet
- yes
- young
- yeah
- yours
- youth
- yellow
- yard
- yep
Short words that start with Y
Two to four letters.
- you
- your
- year
- yet
- yes
- yeah
- ya
- yard
- yo
- yep
- yea
- ye
- yoga
- yup
- yay
- yang
- yell
- yen
- yuan
- yarn
- yah
- yum
- yin
- yeh
- yelp
- yogi
- yak
- yoke
- yawn
- yuck
- yam
- yolk
- yew
- yeti
- yank
- yap
- yaw
- yom
- yon
- yip
5 letter words starting with Y
- years
- young
- yours
- youth
- yield
- yahoo
- yacht
- yeast
- yummy
- yikes
- yearn
- yucca
- yucky
- yerba
- yodel
- yogic
- youse
- yager
Long words that start with Y
Ten letters or more.
- yourselves
- yesteryear
Words that start and end with Y
- yesterday
- yay
- yearly
- yummy
- yucky
- yeomanry
Filter all 114 words that start with Y
Narrow the full list by ending, letters inside and length. The list updates as you type.
More that start with Y
- NamesYvonne, Yahir
- Girl namesYvonne, Yolanda
- Boy namesYahir, Yosef
- Last namesYoung, Yang
- 5-letter wordsyears, young
- Adjectivesyoung, yellow
- Positive wordsyouthful
- Nounsyear, years
- Verbsyield, yell
- Animalsyak, yellow jacket
- Flowersyellow iris, yarrow
- Plants and treesyam, yew
- CountriesYemen
- CitiesYangon, Yokohama
- Foodsyogurt, yam
- Fruitsyellow watermelon, yuzu
- Thingsyacht, yarn
- Colorsyellow, yellow green
- Jobsyoga instructor, youth worker
- Dog namesYorkie, Yuki
Questions people ask
How many words start with Y?
This list has 114 words starting with Y, taken from a standard word-game dictionary and limited to words that appear in real English text.
What are the most common words that start with Y?
you, your, year, years, yet, yes, young, yeah are the most used in everyday English.
What are some long words that start with Y?
yesterday, yourselves, youngster, yellowish, yardstick.
What are easy words that start with Y for kids?
you, your, year, years, yet, yes 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.
See every letter on one page: words A to Z