yes

[ yes ]
See synonyms for: yesyesesyessedyesses on Thesaurus.com

adverb
  1. (used to express affirmation or assent or to mark the addition of something emphasizing and amplifying a previous statement): Do you want that? Yes, I do.

  2. (used to express an emphatic contradiction of a previously negative statement or command): Don't do that! Oh, yes I will!

  1. (used, usually interrogatively, to express hesitation, uncertainty, curiosity, etc.): “Yes?” he said as he opened the door. That was a marvelous show! Yes?

  2. (used to express polite or minimal interest or attention.)

noun,plural yes·es.
  1. an affirmative reply.

verb (used with object),yessed, yes·sing.
  1. to give an affirmative reply to; give assent or approval to.

interjection
  1. (used as a strong expression of joy, pleasure, or approval.)

Origin of yes

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English yes, yis, Old English gēse (adverb and noun), probably equivalent to gēa yea + “be it” (present subjunctive singular of bēon “to be”; see be )

Words Nearby yes

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use yes in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for yes

yes

/ (jɛs) /


sentence substitute
  1. used to express acknowledgment, affirmation, consent, agreement, or approval or to answer when one is addressed

  2. used, often with interrogative intonation, to signal someone to speak or keep speaking, enter a room, or do something

noun
  1. an answer or vote of yes

  2. (often plural) a person who votes in the affirmative

Origin of yes

1
Old English gēse, from iā sīe may it be; see yea

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012