yes
Americanadverb
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(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.
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(used to express an emphatic contradiction of a previously negative statement or command).
Don't do that! Oh, yes I will!
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(used, usually interrogatively, to express hesitation, uncertainty, curiosity, etc.).
“Yes?” he said as he opened the door. That was a marvelous show! Yes?
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(used to express polite or minimal interest or attention.)
noun
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yeses
plural
verb (used with object)
interjection
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used to express acknowledgment, affirmation, consent, agreement, or approval or to answer when one is addressed
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used, often with interrogative intonation, to signal someone to speak or keep speaking, enter a room, or do something
noun
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an answer or vote of yes
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(often plural) a person who votes in the affirmative
Usage
Plural word for yes The plural form of yes is either yeses or yesses, but yeses is more widely used. The plurals of several other singular words that end in -s are also formed the same way, such as bus/buses/busses, gas/gases/gasses, and lotus/lotuses/lotusses. In some instances, particularly informally, the plural form of yes is written with an apostrophe, as in yes's. This is not considered standard, but it may be easier to understand in some contexts because many people are unfamiliar with the plural form of yes. The word yes is only pluralized when it is used as a noun rather than in its more common use as an adverb. The word yes as a noun means "an answer or vote of yes" or "a person who votes in the affirmative," as in The noes outnumbered the yeses.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of yes
First recorded before 900; Middle English yes, yis, Old English gēse (adverb and noun), probably equivalent to gēa yea + sī “be it” (present subjunctive singular of bēon “to be”; see be)
Explanation
Yes is a confirmation or an affirmative — a positive reply. When you say yes to a friend's invitation to a party, it means you'll be there. There's no more positive word in the English language: You use yes to agree, to confirm, or to answer positively. It works best of all to express uninhibited enthusiasm like when you get great news and yell it, maybe even closing your eyes in joy while you say it. Yes comes from the Old English gise, or so be 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.
See Examples For:
It’s what lets you leave a job that’s grinding you down, take six weeks off to help a parent, or say yes when something comes along that won’t come around again.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
"People who live here absolutely love it. But externally, people are saying, 'Milton Keynes, is there culture there?' Well, yes, there is, there's a lot and there's going to be a lot more."
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
Generally, yes — at least in documentaries that follow traditional journalistic standards.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
It isn’t a hard question: yes or no.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
“Yes,” I answered but then quickly added, “I mean, yes, I live in Chinatown, but no, I don’t need a ride.”
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
But the reality is that celebrating these special days is expensive — and seven yeses add up pretty quickly.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
The primary school teacher, who comes from Bedford and now lives in Leeds, received four "yeses" from the judges during episode six of this series.
From BBC ● May 25, 2024
As an image of the final object — Verner Panton’s 1990s Vilbert chair — was added atop the pile of yeses, Antonelli appraised the victors and nodded.
From New York Times ● Mar. 28, 2024
“We’re at a really high percentage of yeses in terms of the RSVPs,” says Weiss.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2024
All day, the yeses and noes had been swirling inside her, faster, faster, until she felt dizzy with indecision.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
To his family, Disney was a genius to be pampered; to his business associates, he was the boss to be yessed.
From Time Magazine Archive
As this remark, adequately yessed, had been on the tip of Mr. Gilbert's tongue, he could not be blamed for rather abruptly changing the subject.
From The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott (Francis Scott) Fitzgerald
His character flaws were widely discussed: his stubbornness, his vanity, his occasional vindictiveness, his habit of yessing callers just to be amiable.
From Time Magazine Archive
No yessing Hearstling, he some-times lectures Mr. Hearst as if he were a small boy.
From Time Magazine Archive
But this was no New Deal yessing, for banishing of tax exemption would mean a better market for ordinary corporate bond issues I. B. A. members underwrite.
From Time Magazine Archive
My grandfather had been wrong about yessing them to death and destruction or else things had changed too much since his day.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
I started yessing them the next day and it began beautifully.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
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