YMCA

Pronunciation

• Audio (Canada):

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Proper noun

YMCA

1. Initialism of Young Men's Christian Association.

Noun

YMCA (plural YMCAs)

1. A hostel or other facility operated by the Young Men's Christian Association.

   Synonym: (informal) Y

   • 2008 August 24, Tara Dooley, “It's been fun to stay at the Y”, in Chron‎:

     In Houston, the YMCA downtown has offered dormitorylike rooms since 1908. The current building was built in 1941. Over the years it drew such fledgling business leaders as Gerald Hines and Fayez Sarofim.

   • 2021, Andrew A. Erish, “1875–1904”, in Vitagraph: America’s First Great Motion Picture Studio, University Press of Kentucky, →ISBN, page 19:

     The title of Smith’s first magic film is to the point: The Vanishing Lady (1898). Blackton operated the camera while Smith hocused and pocused one of their wives away. Presumably there were no trap doors through which a woman could disappear in the stages of the YMCAs and churches where Smith entertained, but thanks to moving pictures he was able to add this most basic of illusions to his repertoire.

2. (preceded by definite article) A particular dance in which the arms and body are used to imitate the letters Y, M, C, and A, in succession, danced to the Village People song Y.M.C.A.

Anagrams

• Macy, cyma

Etymology

Derived from English YMCA.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈimka]

Proper noun

YMCA n

1. YMCA

Further reading

• “YMCA”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025