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.
Rosenior admitted when he was hired that he needed to hit the ground running to silence the critics who claimed that he would be a yes-man for the Chelsea hierarchy.
From Barron's ● Jan. 25, 2026
It is a potential pitfall for Rosenior to be wary of given that, as a recruit from Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital's other club Strasbourg, he could easily be labelled a yes-man.
From BBC ● Jan. 10, 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
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
“If somebody asks for a drink, I’m a yes man, as we all should be behind the bar,” she says.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2024
“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
"If I was a yes man, I would have been gone long ago. We have just got that honesty in the relationship between us that we can be blunt and straight-talking when needed."
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2024
“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
"Yes, yes, man, it IS," Dad put in; "see, it's addressed to him."
From On Our Selection by Rudd, Steele
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
He prefers the illusion of power offered by genuflecting yes-men over the hard work involved in gaining real power and exercising it.
From Salon ● Mar. 13, 2024
Jake is sad, the documentary suggests, because he’s surrounded by yes-men who end up betraying him.
From The Verge ● Oct. 17, 2018
Winstein didn't want yes-men around him; he wanted men who could and would think.
From By Proxy by Dongen, H. R. van
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.
