Yes
det, intj, name, noun, particle, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Definitions
- 1 An affirmative expression; an answer that shows agreement or acceptance.
"Was that a yes?"
- 2 an affirmative wordnet
- 3 A vote of support or in favor of something.
"The workers voted on whether to strike, and there were thirty "yeses" and one "no"."
- 1 To agree with, affirm, approve. colloquial, transitive
"Did he yes the veto?"
- 2 To say “yes”. colloquial, intransitive
"The next day another writer asked us: “Didja hear about So-and-So? Got two hundred and fifty bucks for an idea!” We “yessed” and went our way."
- 3 To attempt to flatter someone by habitually agreeing slang
- 1 Used to show agreement or acceptance.
"Yes, you are correct."
- 2 Used to indicate disagreement or dissent in reply to a negative statement.
"It was not my fault we lost the race. Oh, yes, it was!"
- 3 Answer to a question presuming one answer when all answers are correct. humorous
"Do you like cake, or pie? Yes."
- 1 An exclamation of pleasure or approval, usually transcribed with an exclamation point.
"Our second goal of the match! Yes!"
- 2 Response that confirms that the user is paying attention.
- 3 Used to ask for more information with a request. interrogative
"I need some help. Yes?"
- 1 Countering a statement using the determiner no:; There is; indicating the existence of something. humorous
"Have you heard this before? "Nintendo 64 has no games!" Well, I did a little researching, and here's what I found: […]"
- 2 Countering a statement using the determiner no:; Indicating the possibility or allowance of something. humorous
"When our family left graduate school, it was in a cocoon of our own feelings, with college life behind us and the boys excitedly talking about what was “behead of us,” and our car avoiding no parking signs but aiming for “yes parking.”"
- 1 plural of Ye form-of, plural
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"It is difficult to keep up a conversation with someone who only says "yes" and "no"."
Etymology
From Middle English yes, from Old English ġīese (“by all means, of course, yes”), derived from the same root as yea. Compare Faroese júsá (“yes, indeed, certainly”).
Related phrases
More for "yes"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.