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Most common English words that start with Y

English has 4 most common word classes, which are noun, adjective, verb, and adverb. It is hard to know how many English words start with Y within these 4 parts of speech. In this article, PREP will collect the most common English words that start with Y and provide associated meanings and illustrative examples for better understanding!

I. English words that start with Y: Noun
II. English words that start with Y: Adjective
III. English words that start with Y: Verb
IV. English words that start with Y: Adverb
V. Exercises on English words that start with Y with detailed answers
1. 1. Exercise
2. 2. Answer keys
VI. Master IELTS Skills for a High Band Score

I. English words that start with Y: Noun

Noun, which has the largest vocabulary range, is the first part of speech that PREP wants to introduce. Let’s check out how many English nouns begin with the letter “Y” with PREP!

English words that start with Y	Meaning	Example
Yard /jɑːd/ or /jɑːrd/	a piece of land next to a house, usually used for growing flowers, grass, and other plants	He walked across the yard to get to the shed.
Year /jɪr/	a period of twelve months, especially from 1 January to 31 December	I graduated from college last year.
Yellow /ˈjɛloʊ/	a colour like that of a lemon or gold or the sun	The flowers in the garden are mostly yellow.
Yield /jiːld/	a profit or an amount esp. of a crop produced	The crop yield this year was higher than expected.
Yolk /joʊk/	the yellow, middle part of an egg	I like my eggs cooked with a runny yolk.
Youth /juːθ/	the period of your life when you are young, or the state of being young	He spent his youth traveling around the world.
Yoga /ˈjoʊɡə/	a set of physical and mental exercises, originally from India, intended to give control over the body and mind	She practices yoga every morning to start her day off right.
Yacht /jɑːt/	a boat with sails and sometimes an engine, used for either racing or travelling on for pleasure	They spent their vacation sailing on a yacht in the Caribbean.
Yesterday /ˈjɛstərˌdeɪ/	on the day before today	Yesterday was a busy day at work.
Yearning /ˈjɜːrnɪŋ/	a strong feeling of wishing for something, especially something that you cannot have or get easily	He felt a yearning to explore new places and meet new people.
Yarn /jɑrn/	thread used for making cloth or for knitting	She enjoys knitting with soft yarns in bright colors.
Yorker /ˈjɔrkər/	a type of delivery in cricket, specifically in fast bowling	The bowler bowled a perfect yorker and knocked down the stumps.
Yoke /joʊk/	a wooden bar that is fastened over the necks of two animals, especially cattle, and connected to the vehicle or load that they are pulling	The oxen were harnessed together with a yoke.
Yachtswoman /ˈjɑːtsˌwʊmən/	a woman who sails or owns a yacht	Ellen MacArthur is a famous yachtswoman who has sailed around the world.
Yeast /jiːst/	a type of fungus that is used in making alcoholic drinks such as beer and wine, and for making bread swell and become light	The dough needs some yeast to rise.
Yachtsman /ˈjɑːtsmən/	a man who sails or owns a yacht	He’s a skilled yachtsman who has won many races.
Yiddish /ˈjɪdɪʃ/	a language related to German that is spoken by some Jewish people	My grandparents spoke Yiddish as their first language.
Yawn /jɔn/	to open the mouth wide and take a lot of air into the lungs and slowly send it out, usually when tired or bored	The sight of the boring lecture made me start to yawn.
Yodeler /ˈjoʊdələr/	Yodel singer	The Swiss yodeler performed a beautiful song in the Alpine style.
Yeoman /ˈjoʊmən/	a man who was not a servant and who owned and cultivated (= grew crops on) an area of land	The yeoman was responsible for managing the land and providing for his family.
Yap /jæp/	a short, high-pitched sound made by a dog	The dog’s incessant yapping kept me up all night.
Yabby /ˈjæbi/	a type of freshwater shrimp that lives at the bottom of rivers	We went fishing for yabbies in the river.
Yeomanry /ˈjoʊmənri/	the social class of farmers who owned their land	The yeomanry was called upon to defend the kingdom against invading forces.

II. English words that start with Y: Adjective

Next, PREP will assist you in acquiring English adjectives beginning with Y. Remember to carefully read the examples that PREP has prepared so that you can fully understand the meanings of the vocabulary provided!

English words that start with Y	Meaning	Example
Yummylicious /ˈjʌmiˌlɪʃəs/	extremely delicious	This cake is absolutely yummylicious.
Yachtlike /ˈjɑːtˌlaɪk/	Similar to a yatch	The newly renovated restaurant is decorated with yachtlike elements.
Yellow-bellied /ˌjɛloʊˈbɛl.id/	not brave and easily frightened	He’s too yellow-bellied to take on any kind of challenge.
Yellowish /ˈjɛloʊɪʃ/	slightly yellow	The banana is yellowish in color, indicating that it’s not yet fully ripe.
Youthful /ˈjuθfəl/	having the qualities that are typical of young people	She has a youthful appearance despite being in her 40s.
Yielding /ˈjildɪŋ/	Easy to bend	The soil in this field is very fertile and yielding, producing a bountiful harvest.
Yummy /ˈjʌmi/	delicious	The chocolate cake she baked was so yummy that everyone went back for seconds.
Yonder /ˈjɑːndər/	Over there	There is a beautiful mountain range yonder that we can hike to tomorrow.
Yare /jɛr/	quick	The sailor was yare and ready to set sail as soon as the weather cleared up.
Yucky /ˈjʌki/	disgusting or unpleasant	I couldn’t finish the meal because it tasted yucky to me.
Yeasty /ˈjisti/	similar to or containing yeast	The bread dough needs to sit for a while to become yeasty and rise properly.
Yellowed /ˈjɛloʊd/	turned yellow due to some reasons	The pages of the old book had yellowed with age, giving it a vintage look.
Youthless /ˈjuθləs/	the absence or lack of youth	The old man felt youthless and weak, unable to do the things he used to enjoy.
Yearlong /ˈjɪrlɔŋ/	lasting one year, or one school year	The project took a yearlong effort to complete, but it was worth it in the end.

III. English words that start with Y: Verb

Let’s see how many verbs start with the letter “Y’!

English words that start with Y	Meaning	Example
Yearn /jɜːrn/	wish very strongly	She yearned for a better life.
Yield /jiːld/	to supply or produce something positive such as a profit, an amount of food, or information	The apple tree yielded a lot of fruit this year.
Yank /jæŋk/	to pull something forcefully with a quick movement	He yanked the rope and the bell rang loudly.
Yelp /jɛlp/	to make a sudden, short, high sound, usually when in pain	The puppy yelped when it was stepped on.
Yawn /jɔn/	to open the mouth wide and take a lot of air into the lungs and slowly send it out, usually when tired or bored	The bored student yawned during the lecture.
Yak /jæk/	to talk for a long time about unimportant matters or without achieving anything	The group of friends liked to yak about their weekends.
Yack /jæk/		The talkative salesman wouldn’t stop yacking about his product.
Yack away /jæk əˈweɪ/		They yacked away for hours, talking about anything and everything.
Yield up /jiːld ʌp/	allow somebody to win	The losing team had to yield up the championship trophy.
Yap /jæp/	to make short, high sounds	The small dog would yap at anyone who walked by.
Yodel /ˈjoʊdəl/	perform yodle	The Swiss singer yodeled beautifully.
Yowl /jaʊl/	to make a long, high, unhappy cry, usually when hurt or fighting	The cat would yowl whenever she was hungry.

IV. English words that start with Y: Adverb

The last part of speech mentioned in this article is adverb. Let’s find out how many adverbs start with Y with PREP!

English words that start with Y	Meaning	Example
Yearly /ˈjɪrli/	every year or once every year	The company has a yearly performance review for all employees.
Yesterday /ˈjɛstərˌdeɪ/	on the day before today	Yesterday, I went to the park and played basketball with my friends.
Yearningly /ˈjɜrnɪŋli/	in a way that expresses a strong feeling of wishing for something, especially something that you cannot have or get easily	She looked at him yearningly, wishing he would notice her.
Yawningly /ˈjɔnɪŋli/	in a way that makes you yawn, for example, because you are bored or tired	He yawned yawningly, indicating he was bored with the lecture.
Yonder /ˈjɑːndər/	in the place or direction shown; over there	The mountains yonder were covered in snow.
Yarely /ˈjɛrli/	quickly	The sailor yarely climbed the mast to fix the sail.
Yellingly /ˈjɛlɪŋli/	In the manner that produces a loud shout	The crowd yellingly cheered as the team scored the winning goal.
Yieldingly /ˈjiːldɪŋli/	in a way that shows someone is easily willing to change a decision, opinion, demand, etc	He yieldingly agreed to her proposal, even though he didn’t completely agree.
Yuckily /ˈjʌkɪli/	disgustingly or unpleasantly	The food at the restaurant was so yuckily prepared that I couldn’t eat it.
Yea /jeɪ/	Yeah	Yea, I agree with you, that movie was really good.
Youthfully /ˈjuːθfəli/	in a way that is similar to, typical of, or relates to young people	She danced youthfully to the upbeat music.
Yearningly /ˈjɜrnɪŋli/	in a way that expresses a strong feeling of wishing for something, especially something that you cannot have or get easily	She yearningly looked at the beautiful sunset, wishing the moment could last forever.
Youthward /ˈjuːθwərd/	towards the youth	The city’s population is shifting youthward, with more and more young people moving in.
Yowlingly /ˈjaʊlɪŋli/	In the manner that makes an unhappy long loud call	The cat was sitting outside the door, yowlingly loudly to be let inside.
Yogically /ˈjoʊɡɪkli/	In the way that is related to yoga	She meditated yogically, focusing on her breath and clearing her mind.

V. Exercises on English words that start with Y with detailed answers

1. Exercise

Exercise 1: Match the following words with the appropriate pictures

Bài tập từ vựng tiếng Anh bắt đầu bằng chữ Y

Exercise 2: Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words in the box

Yearningly, yonder, yesterday, yarely, yawningly

……………………………………., I went to the store to buy some groceries.
She looked……………………………………at the cake, wishing she could have a slice.
The lecture was so boring that the students began to……………………………………check their phones.
The mountains rise……………………………………in the distance.
The cat moved……………………………………through the tall grass, stalking its prey.

2. Answer keys

Exercise 1:

Exercise 2:

Yesterday, I went to the store to buy some groceries.
She looked yearningly at the cake, wishing she could have a slice.
The lecture was so boring that the students began to yawningly check their phones.
The mountains rise yonder in the distance.
The cat moved yarely through the tall grass, stalking its prey.

VI. Master IELTS Skills for a High Band Score

Hopefully, this article has helped you gain more English words that start with Y as comprehensively as possible. If you’re aiming for IELTS excellence, explore these top-notch resources designed for high achievers below:

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