-ee
suffix ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Added to transitive verbs to form words meaning a person or thing that is the object of that verb (i.e., to whom or to which an action is done). morpheme
"examine + -ee → examinee"
- 2 Used to form diminutives. morpheme
"boot + -ee → bootee"
- 3 Used in mimicking English as stereotypically spoken by the Chinese. derogatory, morpheme, offensive
""No stealee. You no thinkee? Chinaman no thinkee stealee!" he said, earnestly."
- 4 Alternative form of -y (infinitive suffix). alt-of, alternative, morpheme
- 5 Added to intransitive verbs to form words meaning a person or thing that is the subject of that verb (that is, who or that does an action). morpheme, uncommon
"absent + -ee → absentee"
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- 6 Used to form words meaning a person who is the other party to a contract or other transaction involving a person described by the corresponding word ending in -or. morpheme
"assign + -ee → assignee"
- 7 Used to form words meaning a person who has undergone a particular medical procedure. morpheme
"laryngectomy + -ee → laryngectomee"
- 8 Irregularly added to nouns to mean a person somehow associated with the object denoted by the noun. morpheme
"barge + -ee → bargee"
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"laryngectomy + -ee → laryngectomee"
Etymology
From Middle English -ee, -ē, from Anglo-Norman and Old French -ee, French -é, -ée, endings forming past participle of verbs ending in -er. Doublet of -ate. More distantly related to inherited English -ed.
Perhaps a variation on -ie and -y
Most likely derived from broken English used by Chinese immigrants to America during the 17th to 19th centuries. The -ee was added by those speakers for final consonants in English words that do not exist in Cantonese phonology.
More for "-ee"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.