Commonly used words in written English - letter Y with 29 words, sorted alphabetically

The list of words starting with the letter Y that occur frequently in written English is based on an analysis of the Google Books Ngram (a collection compiled by Peter Norvig in 2012, containing close to one trillion words).
  1. Word Frequency is calculated as the number of occurrences in one million words.
  2. Word Definition is sourced from the WordNet dictionary. You'll have to look up each word page for its complete definition and Part of Speech (POS) categories.
Word Frequency Definition
y
106
(noun) the 25th letter of the Roman alphabet
yale
15
(noun) English philanthropist who made contributions to a college in Connecticut that was renamed in his honor (1649-1721)
yang
7
(noun) the bright positive masculine principle in Chinese dualistic cosmology
yard
51
(noun) a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
yarn
7
(verb) tell or spin a yarn
yeah
14
(exclamation) nonstandard spelling of yes, representing a pronunciation
year
507
(noun) a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
yearly
11
(adjective) occurring or payable every year; (noun) a reference book that is published regularly once every year
years
757
(noun) the time during which someone's life continues
yeast
9
(noun) a commercial leavening agent containing yeast cells; used to raise the dough in making bread and for fermenting beer or whiskey
yelled
6
(adjective) in a vehement outcry
yellow
59
(verb) turn yellow; (adjective) of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
yes
130
(noun) an affirmative; (exclamation) used to answer a question and say that something is correct or true
yesterday
23
(adverb) on the day preceding today; (noun) the day immediately before today
yet
400
(conjunction) nevertheless; notwithstanding; however; (adverb) up to the present time
yield
85
(verb) be the cause or source of; (noun) an amount of a product
yielding
9
(adjective) inclined to yield to argument or influence or control
yoke
6
(verb) become joined or linked together; (noun) fabric comprising a fitted part at the top of a garment
york
385
(noun) the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
yorkshire
5
(noun) a former large county in northern England; in 1974 it was divided into three smaller counties
you
3,240
(pronoun) the pronoun of the second person singular or plural, used of the person or persons being spoken to, in the nominative or objective case
young
323
(adjective) (used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth; (noun) any immature animal
younger
45
(adjective) used of the younger of two persons of the same name especially used to distinguish a son from his father
youngster
7
(noun) a young person of either sex
your
1,009
(pronoun) of or relating to you or yourself or yourselves especially as possessor or possessors
yours
25
(pronoun) that which belongs to you, used without a following noun as a pronoun equivalent in meaning to the adjective your
yourself
76
(pronoun) a reflexive form of you, used as the direct or indirect object of a verb or the object of a preposition
youth
76
(noun) the time of life between childhood and maturity
youthful
9
(adjective) suggestive of youth; vigorous and fresh
yugoslavia
8
(noun) a former country of southeastern Europe bordering the Adriatic Sea; formed in 1918 and named Yugoslavia in 1929; controlled by Marshal Tito as a communist state until his death in 1980