First recorded in 1910–15
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial, expects Warsh is unlikely to "act as a yes-man" for the president.
From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026
It appeared that Lurie and Roseman chose a yes-man coach and a placeholder quarterback in preparation for a long, dreary rebuilding cycle.
From New York Times ● Dec. 29, 2021
On the wholesome 1990s sitcom, Diamond embodied the ultimate yes-man sidekick who executed preppy Zack Morris’ most harebrained ideas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2021
Keegan-Michael Key plays Jake’s obsequious yes-man; John Leguizamo his nervous chopper pilot; and Tyler Mane is an ax-wielding, nonverbal giant.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 5, 2019
How many times had I gone there to be his sidekick and his yes-man, to tell him what he wanted to hear?
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
“Raisi was a yes man, and his unimpressiveness was sort of the point,” said Arash Azizi, a historian who focuses on Iran and lectures at Clemson University in South Carolina.
From New York Times ● May 21, 2024
Many thought he would be a "yes" man, cowering in the shadow of his powerful boss.
From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2023
“You can’t be a yes man to yourself,” he said, “or you’re never going to get better.”
From Washington Times ● Aug. 24, 2023
"This is what happens when you have a 93-year-old man running a company, and everybody's just a yes man to him," Scarborough said, according to Mediaite.
From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2023
"Why, yes, man; it's only naturable—he's her guardian."
From A Son of Hagar A Romance of Our Time by Caine, Hall, Sir
A crib of yes-men limits how big he can grow.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2025
Alice Perkins, who chaired the Post Office at the time and faced a second day of questioning by lawyers on Thursday, denied that Ms Vennells had surrounded herself with "yes-men and yes-women".
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2024
But Logan has a short memory for the favors he owes, and he doesn’t respect obsequious yes-men.
From New York Times ● Mar. 24, 2023
Sometimes it is very difficult to get your head around what makes sense to someone who has completely enclosed himself and surrounded himself with yes-men.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2022
Fred Dunmore is accustomed to dealing with a lot of yes-men at the plant; you shouldn't have any trouble shouting him down.
From Murder in the Gunroom by Piper, H. Beam
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.
