year-over-year

or year o·ver year

[ yeer-oh-ver-yeer ]

adverb

, Accounting, Finance.

1. as compared with the corresponding figure 12 months earlier; involving or reckoned by such a comparison: : YoY

   Exports fell 2 percent year over year in May.

   February rents for one-bedroom apartments saw a year-over-year increase of 6 percent.

2. in each year that passes after an initial investment, the start of an observed trend, etc.; annual or annually:

   The gain from this software purchase has been our best ROI year over year.

   Over the last decade, the year-over-year trend in inflation has strongly correlated with the year-over-year trend in GDP.

Word History and Origins

Origin of year-over-year¹

First recorded in 1790–1800, for an earlier sense

Example Sentences

In Silicon Valley proper, that number increases to $108,603, marking a 7.2 percent year-over-year increase.

From The Daily Beast

I mean actual year-over-year decreases in spending per capita.

From The Daily Beast

Like Medicare, Medicaid has for a long time posted year-over-year spending increases.

From The Daily Beast

Tim Hortons, while it has far less cultural cachet, saw a year-over-year increase in profit of 14 percent in the second quarter.

From The Daily Beast

And for the first time since 2003, it reported that quarterly year-over-year income fell.

From The Daily Beast