yack
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
Usage
What does yack mean? Yack is a slang term that means to talk, especially aimlessly, without stopping, and about unimportant things. It is also spelled yak. Yack is typically used at least somewhat negatively to criticize talking in such a way and imply that it is annoying or excessive, as in Would you two stop yacking and help us? The verbs yap, yammer, and jabber are close synonyms. The related slang term yackety-yak is a noun referring to the kind of continuous and trivial conversation or talk that results from yacking. The word yack is sometimes used as a noun to mean the same thing, as is the word yacking, as in I can’t hear myself think with all that yacking. The word chatter can be used as a synonym of both the noun and verb sense of yack. Unrelatedly, yack is sometimes also used as a slang term meaning to vomit, as in Ugh, I feel like I’m going to yack. Example: My mom yacks on the phone with my aunt for hours about anything and everything.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has yackedperfect 3rd person singular
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have yackedperfect
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is yackingprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been yackingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am yackingprogressive 1st person singular
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are yackingprogressive
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have been yackingperfect progressive
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yackingparticiple
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yackssingular 3rd person
Past
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had yackedperfect
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had been yackingperfect progressive
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was yackingprogressive singular
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were yackingprogressive plural
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yackedparticiple
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yackedsimple
Future
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We had a great yack, but I figured they were married.
From The Guardian • Oct. 2, 2010
This latter name accords with Macgillivray's mode of spelling its note, yack chuck, harsh enough, no one will deny.
From British Birds in their Haunts by Johns, Rev. C. A.
Dé lende o yack, chiv lis drován opā lakis yakka tevel se rakli.
From The Gypsies by Leland, Charles Godfrey
Well I thought I'd get a big yack, because Kennedy had a marvelous sense of humor.
From 100 New Yorkers of the 1970s by Millard, Max
Putting his hand on his friend’s arm, he said quite solemnly: “Jug i mum, sank a nun tut, yack o u, tut a lul kuk, Tutno.”
From Molly Brown of Kentucky by Speed, Nell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
