yields

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of yield.

   The orchard yields several tons of apples every autumn.

   When pushed hard enough, the metal panel yields and bends.

   Note

   Here the same spelling does verb work, and the subject tells you which job it is doing: the orchard yields apples, but the plural noun follows words like grain or bond. Used without an object it usually means giving way (the panel yields, the defender yields to pressure). With an object it means producing (the field yields wheat, the investment yields a return).

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of yield.

   Investors studied the bond yields before deciding where to put their money.

   Improved irrigation pushed grain yields well above last year's figures.

   Note

   Because the noun yield is both countable and uncountable, the plural earns its place when separate measurements are set side by side: crop yields across seasons, the yields of several chemical reactions, the yields of different bombs measured in tons of TNT equivalent. For a single overall output the singular usually serves (the yield was poor), while yields invites comparison.

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