Nouns That Start With U

A noun is “a person, place, thing, or idea.” Most nouns come after an article, like "a," "an," or "the." They commonly act as the subject of a sentence. For example, "An uncle should always love his nieces and nephews."

Nouns can also serve as the object of a sentence. That means they'll come after the verb. For example, "He flew away on the unicorn." Nouns also function as names, including people, cities, and more.

Knowing any of these words can function as subjects or objects, let’s take a look at a nice, long list of U-nouns.

1. Udder - a baglike organ containing two or more glands, like teats on a cow
2. Uganda - a country in east-central Africa
3. Ugliness - the condition of being visually unpleasing
4. Ukulele - a small, four-stringed, guitar-like musical instrument
5. Ulcer - an open sore inside the body of a mucous membrane, like the stomach
6. Ultimatum - a demand which, if not met, will result in a serious consequence
7. Ultrasound - a medical process that uses sound waves to obtain images of internal organs
8. Umbrage - a resentment or annoyance
9. Umbrella - a piece of material stretched over a round frame that provides protection
10. Umpire - an official who administers the rules in certain team sports
11. Unacceptability - the property of being unsatisfactory
12. Unaffordability - the state of being too expensive to afford
13. Unavailability - the state of being inaccessible
14. Unawareness - the condition of being uninformed
15. Uncertainty - doubt
16. Unchastity - the state of being unchaste or lewd
17. Uncle - the brother (or brother-in-law) of someone’s mother or father
18. Unconsciousness - the state of not being awake or alert
19. Unconventionality - the state of deviating from the norm or accepted standard
20. Undergraduate - a college student who hasn’t completed a degree yet
21. Underachievement - an achievement that’s less that expected
22. Underarm - an area under the arm; the armpit
23. Undergrowth - shrubs or plants that grow beneath the trees in a forest
24. Underdog - the person not favored to win
25. Underpayment - an insufficient payment
26. Understatement - when something is said that’s less than what’s true
27. Understudy - an actor who learns the role of another actor and performs when the actor is unavailable
28. Undertone - an underlying quality or element
29. Undertow - an underwater current flowing strongly away from the shore
30. Uneasiness - the state of being nervous or restless
31. Unevenness - the quality of being irregular
32. Unfairness - the state of being impartial or biased
33. Unhappiness - the feeling of not being joyful
34. Unicorn - a mythical horse-like animal with a horn on the center of its forehead
35. Unicycle - a one-wheeled vehicle straddled by a rider who pushes its pedals
36. Uniformity - the state of being even, equal, or similar
37. Unimportance - a lack of significance
38. Uniqueness - the quality of being one-of-a-kind
39. Unit - a fixed standard amount or single thing
40. University - a high-level school that can lead to a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, or doctoral degree
41. Unlikelihood - the state of being improbable
42. Unpleasantness - the quality of being displeasing
43. Unrest - a troubled or disturbed state
44. Update - a report with new information
45. Upgrade - an improvement or advancement
46. Upheaval - a sudden and dramatic change or disruption
47. Upside - the advantageous component of something
48. Urgency - something requiring fast or swift action
49. Usefulness - the quality of being helpful or beneficial
50. Utensil - a tool used for cooking, eating, or other useful purposes

Did you know there are over 10 different types of nouns? If a noun is referring to a person or place, it’s likely acting as a proper noun (e.g. Melanie, Savannah, Alaska, Spain, and Highclere Castle). An example of that would be, "Uruguay is a beautiful haven for artists and writers."

The opposite of a proper noun is a common noun. These nouns refer to general, unspecified things. In the example above, Uruguay is a proper noun. But, if that line simply read, "The country is a beautiful haven," you'd know the subject was a common noun. Common nouns are neither capitalized nor specific.

Then, there are compound nouns (e.g., uproar and underworld), countable nouns, possessive nouns, and pronouns. It’s common to see both nouns and pronouns in a single sentence: "Ursula stopped the car and jumped out to hug her.”

U-nouns tend to begin with “un-,” but they’re much more than that. Let’s look at ten sentences containing U-nouns. Click on the link in each sentence to see more example sentences containing that U-noun:

1. As they sat on the Hawaiian beach, they listened to the soft sounds of a ukulele.
2. Another rainy day meant she needed her umbrella.
3. The entire team was mad at the umpire for his most recent call.
4. She was so excited to begin her next four years as an undergraduate.
5. He was sick and tired of always being the underdog.
6. The peach undertone in your dress pairs really well with your lipstick.
7. Your recent unfairness toward me is less than appealing.
8. I love the uniqueness of your apartment!
9. His negative attitude creates tremendous unrest in the household.
10. My new cell phone is a major upgrade.

Did reviewing nouns that begin with U unleash your curiosity? Visit WordFinder by YourDictionary to uncover a comprehensive list of words that start with the letter U that is organized based on how long each word is. Once you explore the full word list, you can use the on-screen filters to narrow it based on the number of letters or to words that have certain letters in specific positions. It’s unreal just how easy this word list tool is to use.

The vowel U isn’t quite as popular as its comrades A, E, I, and O. But, it can be the underpinning, or foundation, for your next short story or poem. If you’re ready to dabble in a little storytelling, why not see if you can pair a couple of your U-nouns with these short story examples will be just the push you need to rise from underdog to published author.