Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

double-u

/ˈdʌb.(ə)l.juː/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.76 in modern English

Syllables: dou-ble-u
IPA: /ˈdʌb.(ə)l.juː/

10

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The name of the Latin script letter W/w.

noun

Alternative name of the Latin-script digraph ⟨UU⟩.

noun

The WC; the toilet.

noun

Alternative letter-case form of double-u.

Example Sentences

"She would try the front door, and try the back door, and look in the windows; and once she even looked in the double-u."

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English doble W, in reference to the letter's origins as a ligature of two Us or Vs (V originally being a typographical variant of U). The failure of the sequence /bljuː/ to simplify in this word's bisyllabic pronunciation (as in blue) is doubtlessly due to the letter U's name. For colloquial pronunciations without /l/, compare Straya.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: doble W

Inflected Forms

double-ues (plural) double-u's (plural) double U (alternative) double you (alternative) double-you (alternative) doubleyou (alternative)

Derived Forms

dubya

Synonyms

w

Questions

How do you pronounce double-u?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈdʌb.(ə)l.juː/.
What does double-u mean?: The name of the Latin script letter W/w.
Where does double-u come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce double-u

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “double-u”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈdʌb.(ə)l.juː/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “double-u”.
Repeat and practice — Say “double-u” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.