Home UK English ya

Main meanings of ya in English

: ya1YA2

ya1

Pronunciation /jə/ /ja/

pronoun

informal

  • non-standard spelling of you, used to represent a pronunciation

    ‘see ya later’
    non-standard spelling of you, used to represent a pronunciation
    • ‘When ya coming to visit???’
    • ‘So are ya coming? I mean we need a commitment here.’

possessive determiner

informal

  • non-standard spelling of your, used to represent a pronunciation

Pronunciation

ya

/jə/ /ja/

Main meanings of YA in English

: ya1YA2

YA2

noun

  • A person in their teens or early twenties, especially as a consumer of fiction, films, television programmes, etc.

    ‘comics aimed at both YAs and younger readers’
    • ‘Mockingjay is the final installment in the best-selling YA trilogy.’
    • ‘Ultimate Spider-Man is very much a teen story, a YA comic before YA became a thing.’
    • ‘YA adaptations have, on average, tended to see a drop of around 55 percent, but there is some variance among series.’
    • ‘Are books the perfect way for teens and YAs to explore issues and the questions they have?’
    • ‘YAs reported symptom severity, symptom interference, and variations over time that were distinct from older patients.’

adjective

  • Denoting or relating to fiction, films, television programmes, etc., intended or suitable for people in their teens or early twenties.

    ‘contemporary YA fiction’

Origin

1970s short for young adult.