yes

[yes]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR yes ON THESAURUS.COM

adverb

(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.

(used to express an emphatic contradiction of a previously negative statement or command): Don't do that! Oh, yes I will!

(used, usually interrogatively, to express hesitation, uncertainty, curiosity, etc.): “Yes?” he said as he opened the door. That was a marvelous show! Yes?

(used to express polite or minimal interest or attention.)

noun, plural yes·es.

an affirmative reply.

verb (used with object), yessed, yes·sing.

to give an affirmative reply to; give assent or approval to.

interjection

(used as a strong expression of joy, pleasure, or approval.)

Origin of yes

before 900; Middle English yes, yis, Old English gēse (adv. and noun), probably equivalent to gēa yea¹ + sī be it (present subjunctive singular of bēon to be)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for yes

good, okay, amen, yea, fine, affirmative, true, aye, certainly, definitely, exactly, gladly, granted, indubitably, naturally, positively, precisely, surely, undoubtedly, unquestionably

Examples from the Web for yes

Contemporary Examples of yes

And yes, someone has already called Spencer a “Small Fry,” har har.
Freaking Out About Age Gaps in Gay Relationships Is Homophobic
Samantha Allen
January 9, 2015
Yes, we do typically do better than Europe (and Canada, too, which is frequently awful on this score).
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech
Nick Gillespie
January 9, 2015
But yes, I pictured a James Bond-type just sauntering over to her.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS
Marlow Stern
January 8, 2015
And yes, our values include tolerance of those who wish to make fun of religion.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Our Duty Is to Keep Charlie Hebdo Alive
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
January 8, 2015
And that may well be what is happening in the Barnett Shale region around, yes, Dallas and Irving.
26 Earthquakes Later, Fracking’s Smoking Gun Is in Texas
James Joiner
January 7, 2015

Historical Examples of yes

Yes—I'm hungry for both, and some of those funny little cakes.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Yes, dearest Philothea; but not till she had first told me of her own marriage with Geta.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
Yes, and that young shrimp that was talkin' about 'vintages' and 'trouserings.'
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
What you say in New York—'a damned fine old family,' yes, is it not?
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Yes, the bathing-suit does have little touches of red, and red—but this will never do.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for yes

yes

sentence substitute

used to express acknowledgment, affirmation, consent, agreement, or approval or to answer when one is addressed

used, often with interrogative intonation, to signal someone to speak or keep speaking, enter a room, or do something

noun

an answer or vote of yes

(often plural) a person who votes in the affirmative

Compare no 1

Word Origin for yes

Old English gēse, from iā sīe may it be; see yea

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for yes

Old English gise, gese "so be it!," probably from gea, ge "so" (see yea) + si "be it!," third person imperative of beon "to be" (see be). Originally stronger than simple yea. Used in Shakespeare mainly as an answer to negative questions. Yes-man is first recorded 1912, American English.