yes

Pluralyeses, yesses

Formsyeses, yessing, yessed

1. 1
   said to agreeparticle

   Used to give an affirmative answer, express agreement or acceptance, or insist that something is true when it has been denied.

   Yes, that's exactly what I meant when I raised the issue.

   "Would you like some more coffee?" "Yes, please, but just half a cup."

   UsageAnswer negative questions by the facts: to Didn't you go?, Yes, I did means you went.

   Oppositeno

   Note

   This is the everyday sense, and the word's history explains it. Old English ġīese meant "by all means, of course," an emphatic assent built on the same root as yea. In modern English the emphasis has worn away, and yes is the neutral way to agree, accept, or grant permission, often softened with a title: "Yes, sir." Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Old English ġīese meant ‘by all means, of course’. en.wiktionary.org
   • Yes shares an etymological root with yea. en.wiktionary.org
   • Yes historically expressed a stronger affirmative than its ordinary modern use. en.wiktionary.org
2. 2
   nouncountable

   An affirmative answer or decision, including a vote cast in favor of something.

   He gave a reluctant yes after several minutes of persuasion.

   The survey recorded far more yeses than the planners had expected.

   UsagePlural yeses: give someone a yes, get a yes.

   Similarassent, aye, affirmative

   Oppositeno, nay

   Note

   Edgar Rice Burroughs, in The Return of Tarzan (1913), writes of a woman's "yes" that could bind a man to a life. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote The Return of Tarzan. en.wikisource.org
   • The first book edition appeared in 1915; 1913 is the year of its magazine serialization. digitalcommons.winthrop.edu
   • The novel's narrator describes a woman's ‘yes’ binding a man to another life. gutenberg.org
3. 3
   adverb

   Used partway through a statement for emphasis, or to lead into a stronger word or a further point that is often surprising.

   It was a good performance, yes, a brilliant one.

   She had read every book in the library, yes, every single one.

   UsageSet off with commas before the stronger word, often with even: good, yes, brilliant; yes, even the critics.

   Similarindeed

   Note

   A rhetorical step up, more at home in writing and speeches than in chat: it was good, yes, brilliant. Older rhetoric used nay for the same climb; yes makes the move without the archaic ring. Source

   Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Older usage employed nay to introduce a stronger expression. en.wiktionary.org
4. 4
   verbcolloquialintransitive

   To answer yes, or to agree to or approve something.

   “Heaven knows why a woman ‘Noes’!” / Clarrie nodded glumly. “And why she ‘Yesses’ in the end.”

   1994, Malcolm Ross, Kernow & Daughter

   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.

   1923, “Going Up!”, in Sunday State Journal

   UsageIts forms double the s: yessed, yessing.

   Similaragree, assent, approve

   Oppositerefuse, decline

   Note

   A casual verb made straight from the reply. Writers often set it off with punctuation, as if admitting the coinage. It is most at home in light narrative, often set against its mirror image, as when Malcolm Ross's characters wonder why a woman "Noes" and then "Yesses" in the end. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Yes functions directly as a verb meaning to say yes or approve. en.wiktionary.org
   • Malcolm Ross's fictional dialogue uses “Noes” and “Yesses” while discussing why a woman refuses and eventually agrees; Clarrie speaks the second line. en.wiktionary.org
5. 5
   interjection

   A shout of pleasure or approval, usually written with an exclamation point.

   Yes! That last-minute goal sent the whole stadium roaring.

   The moment the printer finally worked, he threw his arms up and shouted, "Yes!"

   Similarhooray, yay, yippee, woohoo

   Oppositeno

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