Words that start with U

U is for Unfinished

Something is unfinished if it has not been completed yet.
A similar word to unfinished is incomplete.The opposite of unfinished is finished.

Benny Lin / CC BY-SA

U is for Unfit

Adjectives

Someone is unfit if they are in poor physical condition, and get tired very easily when they do physical activity. The man in the photo is very unfit.
Unfit also means something that doesn't suit a purpose, for example a rotten fruit is unfit to eat.

Tony Alter / CC BY-SA

A photo of a woman who had an unfortunate accident.

U is for Unfortunate

Adjectives

Unfortunate is another word for unlucky. Unfortunate means that something bad has happened that is out of your control. The opposite of unfortunate is fortunate.

Lars Plougmann / CC BY-SA

U is for Unhappy

Emotions

Someone is unhappy if they are sad or dissatisfied, particularly with their situation.

Photographic Dictionary / Generated Illustration

U is for Unicorn

Mythical creatures

A unicorn is a mythical creature that resembles a white horse with a horn in the center of its forehead. Unicorns were said to have many powers, such as being able to cure disease and purify water.
It is said that unicorns could only be captured by a virgin.

Rachel Kramer / Inspired By (CC BY)

U is for Unicycle

Vehicles

A unicycle is a bicycle with only one wheel. The "uni" at the start of the word means one, just like the "bi" on bicycle means two, and the "tri" on tricycle means three.
Because unicycles only have one wheel they are hard to ride and hard to steer, and they are not seen very often outside of circuses.

Ed Uthman / CC BY-SA

U is for Uniform

Adjectives

Something is uniform if it is the same everywhere. A wall that is all one color might be described as being a uniform shade of green.
A uniform is also the name given to the clothing all people in an organisation have to wear so they all look similar. People in the military wear uniforms, and many schools require that children wear uniforms.
Uniforms for men and women are often quite different, even in the same organisation.

DVIDS / Public Domain

U is for Unique

Adjectives, Positivity

Something is unique if there is nothing else like it. When something is unique, there is only one thing of its kind.

patricia / CC BY-SA

A picture of the known universe from the Hubble space telescope.

U is for Universe

Astronomy

The universe describes all known matter and space. All of the planets and galaxies in existence are part of the universe. Another word for universe is cosmos.

Hubble ESA / CC BY-SA

Photo of UNSW Australia, Kensington campus

U is for University

List of locations, Education

A university is a place where people go, usually after finishing school, to learn more about something so they can get a job, or simply because they love to learn. Universities give you a degree or some other certification when you have finished learning. In some countries, a place where you go for other kinds of tertiary education is known by other names, like a college or a technical school.

UNSW Australia / CC BY-SA

U is for Unkempt

Adjectives

Someone is unkempt if they haven't paid attention to their personal hygiene and grooming, and look very scruffy. Something like a garden is unkempt if it has been unmaintained and left to get overgrown.

David Tansey / CC BY-SA

U is for Unload

Verbs

You unload something when you take the load or cargo out from inside it. The truck in the picture is unloading a pile of dirt.

Philip Brewer / CC BY-SA

U is for Unlock

Verbs

You unlock something when you open a lock, usually by using a key.

Alan Cleaver / CC BY-SA

U is for Unread

Adjectives

A book or any other piece of writing is unread if you have not read it. Once you have read a book, and then give it to someone else who hasn't read it, it becomes unread again to the new person.

Photographic Dictionary / Generated Illustration

U is for Unreal

Adjectives

Unreal means that something is not real. An unreal thing can be fake or imaginary.

Wonderlane / CC BY-SA

U is for Unsafe

Adjectives

Something is unsafe if it has a high risk of danger. The man in the picture has chosen an unsafe way to reach the roof he is working on. Unsafe is the opposite of safe.

Jens Rost / CC BY-SA

U is for Untucked

Adjectives

Something is untucked if the loose edge of something is flapping and is not held in place. The man in the picture has his shirt untucked. Untucked is the opposite of tucked.

codersquid / CC BY-SA

U is for Unusual

Adjectives

Something is unusual if it is not what you expect for something of that kind. Something unusual is not ordinary.

The way the tree in the picture has split is unusual.

photogramma1 / CC BY-SA