yield
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to give forth or produce by a natural process or in return for cultivation.
This farm yields enough fruit to meet all our needs.
-
to produce or furnish (payment, profit, or interest).
a trust fund that yields ten percent interest annually; That investment will yield a handsome return.
-
to give up, as to superior power or authority.
They yielded the fort to the enemy.
-
to give up or surrender (oneself ).
He yielded himself to temptation.
- Antonyms:
- resist
-
to give up or over; relinquish or resign.
to yield the floor to the senator from Ohio.
-
to give as due or required.
to yield obedience to one's teachers.
- Synonyms:
- render
-
to cause; give rise to.
The play yielded only one good laugh.
verb (used without object)
-
to give a return, as for labor expended; produce; bear.
-
to surrender or submit, as to superior power.
The rebels yielded after a week.
-
to give way to influence, entreaty, argument, or the like.
Don't yield to their outrageous demands.
-
to give place or precedence (usually followed byto ).
to yield to another; Will the senator from New York yield?
-
to give way to force, pressure, etc., so as to move, bend, collapse, or the like.
I've pushed and pushed, but this door will not yield.
noun
-
something yielded.
- Synonyms:
- fruit
-
the quantity or amount yielded.
-
the act or process of yielding.
the yield of plastic materials under stress.
-
Chemistry. the quantity of product formed by the interaction of two or more substances, generally expressed as a percentage of the quantity obtained to that theoretically obtainable.
-
the income produced by a financial investment, usually shown as a percentage of cost.
-
a measure of the destructive energy of a nuclear explosion, expressed in kilotons of the amount of TNT that would produce the same destruction.
verb
-
to give forth or supply (a product, result, etc), esp by cultivation, labour, etc; produce or bear
-
(tr) to furnish as a return
the shares yielded three per cent
-
to surrender or relinquish, esp as a result of force, persuasion, etc
-
to give way, submit, or surrender, as through force or persuasion
she yielded to his superior knowledge
-
to agree; comply; assent
he eventually yielded to their request for money
-
(tr) to grant or allow; concede
to yield right of way
-
obsolete (tr) to pay or repay
God yield thee!
noun
-
the result, product, or amount yielded
-
the profit or return, as from an investment or tax
-
the annual income provided by an investment, usually expressed as a percentage of its cost or of its current value
the yield on these shares is 15 per cent at today's market value
-
the energy released by the explosion of a nuclear weapon expressed in terms of the amount of TNT necessary to produce the same energy
-
chem the quantity of a specified product obtained in a reaction or series of reactions, usually expressed as a percentage of the quantity that is theoretically obtainable
Synonym Usage
Yield, submit, surrender mean to give way or give up to someone or something. To yield is to concede under some degree of pressure, but not necessarily to surrender totally: to yield ground to an enemy. To submit is to give up more completely to authority, superior force, etc., and to cease opposition, although usually with reluctance: to submit to control. To surrender is to give up complete possession of, relinquish, and cease claim to: to surrender a fortress, one's freedom, rights. See crop.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
underyieldnoun
-
yieldernoun
-
outyieldverb (used with object)
-
underyieldverb (used without object)
-
unyieldedadjective
-
yieldableadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
yieldsimple
-
yieldssimple
-
have yieldedperfect
-
has yieldedperfect
-
am yieldingprogressive
-
are yieldingprogressive
-
is yieldingprogressive
-
have been yieldingperfect progressive
-
has been yieldingperfect progressive
Past
-
yieldedsimple
-
had yieldedperfect
-
was yieldingprogressive
-
were yieldingprogressive
-
had been yieldingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of yield
First recorded before 900; (for the verb) Middle English y(i)elden, Old English g(i)eldan “to pay”; cognate with German gelten “to be worth, apply to”; noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
Yield has two meanings that seem quite different: "an amount" or "to give way." The yield of the recipe was twelve brownies. To avoid being tripped, Mary was forced to yield to the children on her way to the brownie plate. While these meanings seem quite different, they both essentially mean "to give." The recipe gives twelve brownies to those who follow it, and Mary is giving up her right to go first. Yield can also mean the rate of return on an investment. A bond yields an interest rate of 2%, or gives an investor $2.00 for every $100 invested.
Vocabulary lists containing yield
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
ASVAB Word Knowledge
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 4
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
They estimate the trust’s 2026 distribution yield at 7.4%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
That makes for a dividend yield of 9.43%, based on Tuesday’s closing share price.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Then there’s what the 30-year bond yield is saying about Uncle Sam’s finances.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Investors like to say there’s nothing “magical” about a 5% Treasury yield.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
“You do me wrong, Ophelia, for I would not yield you to him or his hounds,” said Hamlet.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Treasury yields came off the recent highs as energy prices declined in June, but there’s also been a steady barrage of longer-duration corporate-debt issuance from the “hyperscalers” of the artificial-intelligence spending race.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Prices are likely supported by a broad pullback in global bond yields and a softer dollar as markets weigh the prospect of renewed U.S.-Iran talks, says Tickmill’s Joseph Dahrieh in commentary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
However, unlike in 2023 and earlier this year, it’s been tougher to quickly dislodge 5% 30-year Treasury yields once they hit, as the below chart shows.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Since long bonds have the closest duration to the S&P 500, their rising real yields raise the bar for stocks, all else being equal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
New hybrids have increased farm yields to about 180 bushels per acre.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
It yielded nothing, which was what it deserved.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Overall, though, the 78th Emmy Awards nominations yielded a typical slate of choices.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
But his search yielded only crushed masonry; no bones, and no sign of his son, or the others killed with him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
That yielded a trade deficit of $77.6 billion versus $54.6 billion in April.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Inhabitants of Rennell Island, a traditional Polynesian island that did not become Westernized until the 1930s, told me that Westernization yielded the wonderful side benefit that the island became quiet.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
He announced plans to cut up to 16% of the company’s 55,000 employees, yielding $1 billion in cost cuts, and increase its stock buybacks by billions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
The vast oilfields of Long Beach and Wilmington and Signal Hill are still yielding it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Junk ETFs include the $15 billion iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond, yielding about 6%.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
Also worth a look are apartments like Equity Residential, which has a deal to merge with AvalonBay Communities, as well as Mid-America Apartment Communities and Camden Property Trust —all yielding about 4%.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
The wall she was touching felt warm and yielding now, and, she realized, it felt as if it were covered in a fine downy fur.
From "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman
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.
