adj, name, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A nanny; female caregiver; nursemaid Hong-Kong, Philippines

   "“Can you not make this carriage move faster? You're moving slower than when my yaya tried to ride a snail to the next village.”"

Verb

1. 1
   To show off or behave in an egocentric or self-important manner. Singlish, invariable

Adjective

1. 1
   Arrogant, stuck-up. Singlish

Proper Noun

1. 1
   A female given name.
2. 2
   A male given name.

Synonyms

All synonyms

aura farmboulevardiercut a wide swathcut it fatcut roundexhibitionize

Example

More examples

"You did a lot of good for Yaya."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Tagalog yaya, from Philippine Spanish yaya.

Etymology 2

Unknown.

Etymology 3

The male name is ultimately from Arabic يَحْيَى (yaḥyā); likely through a West African language.

Related phrases

yaya papayaget one's ya yas out

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.