Meaning & use
yute
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Meanings
nouncountableslangdialect
A young person, especially a teenage boy or young man; a respelling of youth used in Caribbean and Caribbean-influenced speech.
Grammar: Plural is yutes or yutes in slang: those yutes.
Patterns
- a young yute
- the yutes
The yutes were playing football in the street.
Some older people say the yutes need more respect.
He talked to the yutes at the youth club.
nouncountablehumorous
In the Mafia comedy film convention, a mocking accent word for a young man; used with a New York accent in 'My Cousin Vinny'.
Grammar: Humorous; rarely used in earnest.
Patterns
- two yutes
They joked about 'the two yutes' in a movie quote.
He imitated the accent by saying 'yute' for youth.
Word forms
| plural | yutes |
|---|
Common combinations
- young yute
- A young yute asked directions from the shopkeeper.
- the yutes
- The yutes gathered on the corner after school.
- local yutes
- Local yutes organized a football match.
- yute man
- He greeted the group with 'yute man'.
- yute of the area
- The yute of the area packed the community hall.
Synonyms and how they differ
- youth
- Youth is the standard form of the word and is suitable in any register.
- youngster
- Youngster is neutral and friendly, while yute marks the speaker's dialect or slang.
- lad
- Lad is a British word for a boy or young man and suggests familiarity.
- kid
- Kid is a general informal word for a child or young person.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: yute or youth? yute or jute?
yute vs youth
Youth is the standard spelling; yute is a nonstandard respelling that imitates speech.
yute vs jute
Jute is a plant fiber used for rope and sacks and is pronounced differently.
Practice
In slang, which word does 'yute' stand for?
Choose one answer.
Yute reproduces the Caribbean-influenced pronunciation of youth. Jute is a fiber, and the other options are unrelated words.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “yute”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.