yes

American  

[yes] / yɛs /

adverb

1. (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.

2. (used to express an emphatic contradiction of a previously negative statement or command).

   Don't do that! Oh, yes I will!

3. (used, usually interrogatively, to express hesitation, uncertainty, curiosity, etc.).

   “Yes?” he said as he opened the door. That was a marvelous show! Yes?

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

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noun

plural

yeses

1. an affirmative reply.

verb (used with object)

yessed, yessing

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

interjection

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

yes British  

/ jɛs /

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

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

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noun

1. an answer or vote of yes

2. (often plural) a person who votes in the affirmative

Usage

Plural word for yes The plural form of yes is either yeses or yesses, but yeses is more widely used. The plurals of several other singular words that end in -s are also formed the same way, such as bus/buses/busses, gas/gases/gasses, and lotus/lotuses/lotusses. In some instances, particularly informally, the plural form of yes is written with an apostrophe, as in yes's. This is not considered standard, but it may be easier to understand in some contexts because many people are unfamiliar with the plural form of yes. The word yes is only pluralized when it is used as a noun rather than in its more common use as an adverb. The word yes as a noun means "an answer or vote of yes" or "a person who votes in the affirmative," as in The noes outnumbered the yeses.

Etymology

Origin of yes

First recorded before 900; Middle English yes, yis, Old English gēse (adverb and noun), probably equivalent to gēa yea + sī “be it” (present subjunctive singular of bēon “to be”; be )

Example Sentences

He said there was no question in his mind that the answer was yes.

From The Wall Street Journal

So yes, small businesses or even groups of individuals might be able to band together to buy insurance, but there likely would be fewer rules about what — or whom — it has to cover.

From Los Angeles Times

The event contracts sold on prediction markets are built around yes/no questions.

From Barron's

We wanted comfort, yes, but not the blunt kind.

From Salon

The Mayer does not take credit cards and never has, only cash and — yes! — local checks.

From Salon