Yo-yo

//ˈjoʊ.joʊ// noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A toy consisting of a spheroidal or cylindrical spindle having a circular groove in which string is wound; it is used by holding the string in the fingers and reeling the spindle up and down by movements of the wrist.

    "I bought a yo-yo from the toy store yesterday."

  2. 2
    a toy consisting of a spool that is reeled up and down on a string by motions of the hand wordnet
  3. 3
    A volatile market that moves up and down.
  4. 4
    Someone who vacillates. informal
  5. 5
    A dogfighting maneuver involving the attacker temporarily exchanging altitude for airspeed, or vice versa, in order to rapidly catch up with the defender or to prevent an overshoot.
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    A cloth rosette formed by gathering the outside edge of a circle of fabric in toward the centre using a running stitch.
  2. 7
    A foolish, annoying or incompetent person. informal

    "It is hard to watch the management for very long and not conclude that the place is run by a bunch of yo-yos."

Verb
  1. 1
    To vacillate; to move up and down. intransitive

    "The yo-yoing stockmarket whizzed back up by around a quarter and then started to fall again."

Etymology

Etymology 1

Genericized trademark. Most likely from Ilocano yóyo, or another Philippine cognate.

Etymology 2

Genericized trademark. Most likely from Ilocano yóyo, or another Philippine cognate.

Next best steps

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: yoyo