yeah
Americanadverb
Etymology
Origin of yeah
Explanation
Yeah is a casual form of yes. When you’re hanging out with someone you really look up to and they ask you if you want to go to a party, play it cool by saying “Yeah, sure,” instead of “Yes! I’d love to!” You would almost never write “yeah” unless you were trying to mimic the sound of talking. If someone says, "Yeah, right," they’re not casually telling you you’re right. They’re ironically saying “Not likely.” And if someone interrupts you while you’re talking and says “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” it means, “I already know that—–get on with it!.”
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.
Asked whether he spoke to her that week, she said: "Yeah, he did. Very much like he would have spoken to me the week before. As if nothing had happened."
From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026
Yeah, everyone kind of thinks Mr. Collins is an idiot, but she’s looking deeper than that and being like, ‘Maybe he needs a bit of understanding.'”
From Salon • Jun. 25, 2026
“You just have to get it out and have a play around. Yeah, there’s never a dull moment.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 25, 2026
Yeah, those are all things that I am doing.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2026
Yeah, I was an undocumented immigrant who'd been elected to public office.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
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.
