Y2K

American

[wahy-too-key] / ˈwaɪˌtuˈkeɪ /

abbreviation

the year 2000.
Also called Y2K bug. Also called millennium bug. Also called Y2K problem,. a bug that could cause computers or software to misinterpret a year after 1999 as having the first two digits 19 instead of 20, due to the coding of dates using only the last two digits of the four-digit year.

adjective

relating to or characteristic of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The outfit merges Y2K aesthetics with contemporary trends.

Y2K British

noun

another name for the year 2000 _ad (esp referring to the millennium bug)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Y2K

First recorded in 1995–2000; Y(ear) + 2 + K symbol for the number 1000

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Coach got a boost a few years back when Gen Z consumers began to obsess over relics of the Y2K era.

From The Wall Street Journal

Licensing for movies and TV is also booming, and with Y2K nostalgia permeating today’s media, Spears may be selling at an opportune time.

From Los Angeles Times

However, “businesses owning 10% of total equities, similar to the Y2K’s top, would highlight a major ‘red flag,’” he says.

From MarketWatch

“Shakespeare in Love” is nothing if not a product of its Y2K era.

From Los Angeles Times

Young people thrifting clothes as they embrace their Y2K or cottagecore aesthetics have helped secondhand shopping shed its stigma, turning it into a trend, not a necessity.

From MarketWatch

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023