yesterday

American  

[yes-ter-dey, -dee] / ˈyɛs tərˌdeɪ, -di /

adverb

1. on the day preceding this day.

2. a short time ago.

   Yesterday your money went further.

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noun

1. the day preceding this day.

2. time in the immediate past.

adjective

1. belonging or pertaining to the day before or to a time in the immediate past.

   yesterday morning.

yesterday British  

/ -ˌdeɪ, ˈjɛstədɪ /

noun

1. the day immediately preceding today

2. (often plural) the recent past

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adverb

1. on or during the day before today

2. in the recent past

yesterday Idioms  

1. see not born yesterday.

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Other Word Forms

• yesterdayness noun

Etymology

Origin of yesterday

before 950; Middle English; Old English geostran dæg. See yester-, day

Example Sentences

One long-held piece of financial wisdom is that the best time to invest was yesterday — and the second-best time is today.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026

"Of course, until yesterday the prime minister was claiming that this leadership had brought order to the chaos of illegal subsidies," it said.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

“Sorry,” he said brightly, “I threw up in that seat on the 405 yesterday, but I think I mostly cleaned it up.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

"I would appeal again to anyone who was in the Kennerleigh Avenue area in the early hours of yesterday morning to come forward if they have any information which could assist our investigation."

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026

She finally replied yesterday with a brief Soz.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler