yay

¹ American  

[yey] / yeɪ /

interjection

Informal.

1. (an exclamation used to express joy, excitement, etc.)

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yay ² American  

[yey] / yeɪ /

Or yea

adverb

Informal.

1. to the extent, amount, etc., indicated.

   The doll is about yay high.

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yay British  

/ jeɪ /

interjection

1. informal an exclamation indicating approval, congratulation, or triumph

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Etymology

Origin of yay¹

First recorded in 1960–65; perhaps alteration of yeah

Origin of yay²

Probably < yea

Example Sentences

I hadn't thought about it till it came out in the press, so yay, yay for me.

From Barron's • Jan. 17, 2026

“The first one she was yay high and then six months later, she grew. We had to readjust all of our dolls.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2025

It’s saying, “Oh, yay, I get to flunk another math test this week,” when what you mean is that you are freaked out about your consistently terrible grades in math class.

From Salon • Nov. 29, 2024

Roy runs into Phoebe’s teacher — yay, Phoebe, genuinely and always — and she says he seemed “stuck” the last time they spoke, which evidently serves to immediately unstick him.

From New York Times • May 17, 2023

Winter Pay poon Pay pun Ealk hay ay Ghā e yay.

From Notes of a Twenty-Five Years' Service in the Hudson's Bay Territory Volume II. by M'lean, John