yo-yo
Americannoun
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yo-yos
plural
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a spoollike toy consisting of two thick wooden, plastic, or metal disks connected by a dowel pin in the center to which a string is attached, one end being looped around the player's finger so that the toy can be spun out and reeled in by wrist motion.
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something that fluctuates or moves up and down, especially suddenly or repeatedly.
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Slang. a stupid, foolish, or incompetent person.
adjective
verb (used without object)
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yo-yos,
present (3rd person singular)
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yo-yoed,
past participle, past
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yo-yoing
present participle
verb (used with object)
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yo-yos,
present (3rd person singular)
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yo-yoed,
past participle, past
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yo-yoing
present participle
noun
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a toy consisting of a spool attached to a string, the end of which is held while it is repeatedly spun out and reeled in
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slang a stupid person, esp one who is easily manipulated
verb
adjective
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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yo-yosimple
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yo-yossimple
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have yo-yoedperfect
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has yo-yoedperfect
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am yo-yoingprogressive
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are yo-yoingprogressive
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is yo-yoingprogressive
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have been yo-yoingperfect progressive
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has been yo-yoingperfect progressive
Past
-
yo-yoedsimple
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had yo-yoedperfect
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was yo-yoingprogressive
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were yo-yoingprogressive
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had been yo-yoingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of yo-yo
First recorded in 1915–20; of undetermined origin; possibly from Ilocano yóyo or a related language as the name of a Philippine toy
Explanation
A yo-yo is a toy that's made of a string wound around two connected discs. The trick of a yo-yo is to drop the discs to the end of the string and flick them back up into your hand. When you learn to use a yo-yo, you can do tricks that involve the spinning discs and the string's tension. A yo-yo expert can "walk the dog," where the yo-yo rolls along the floor like a dog on a leash, or go "around the world," making a wide circle in the air with the yo-yo before snapping it back up the string to her hand. The word yo-yo appeared around 1915, possibly from a language of the Philippines.
Vocabulary lists containing yo-yo
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:
Repeated weight loss followed by weight regain, often called "yo-yo dieting" or weight cycling, has long been viewed as unhealthy and potentially even worse than staying overweight.
From Science Daily ● May 17, 2026
Can relegated Burnley stop yo-yo effect - and do they want to?
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
They use a "flywheel exercise device," similar to a yo-yo, that can allow for aerobics like rowing as well as provide resistance to perform moves like weighted squats and deadlifts.
From Barron's ● Apr. 4, 2026
The sector’s shrinkage reflects years of yo-yo profitability and of returning gobs of cash to shareholders because companies lacked good reinvestment opportunities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
He pressed it and the tiny powerful motor inside the yo-yo began to turn.
From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz
Duncan Toys has been producing yo-yos, flying discs and model gliders in China, and Washington's escalating tariffs with Beijing last year similarly forced him to pause imports.
From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026
One of the sweetest tributes to Smothers can be found on the YoYoExpert website, where fans reminisce about the brothers’ “Just say YO: The Yo-Yo Man Instructional Video” and post photographs of their Smothers-branded yo-yos.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 29, 2023
After the November 1932 elections, with a significant fall in the Nazi vote, members started to drift away and at Christmas shoppers seemed more interested in the new craze for yo-yos than in political change.
From New York Times ● Mar. 20, 2020
They can be found in gaming headsets, fitness trackers, some robotic toy bugs or fish, key fob finders and light-up yo-yos.
From BBC ● Dec. 23, 2019
Pinmei looked at the door and windows and could see only the lit torches, balls of fire rolling and spinning madly around the house like toy yo-yos.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
In the years that the club yo-yoed between the Premier League and Championship, with two relegations from the top flight in three years between 2023 and 2025, the club lost more than £180m.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Since then, the impressive abode has bounced on and off the market multiple times, as the Baldwins have yo-yoed on their decision to sell it.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 19, 2026
Those details could be key for Chevron, whose shares have yo-yoed this week.
From Barron's ● Jan. 7, 2026
Horston, who underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason, had a rocky rookie season in which she was yo-yoed in and out of the lineup and bounced between small forward and power forward.
From Seattle Times ● May 12, 2024
Gregor and Boots shot up fifty feet in the air and yo-yoed up and down like they were on a big rubber band.
From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins
Earnings releases from Alphabet and Tesla on Wednesday could give clearer direction to yo-yoing tech stocks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
The early laps of the race may well feature yet another yo-yoing battle between the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers, as has marked out the early stages of both races so far this season.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2026
CONGRESS, Ariz. — The hands are in constant motion, yo-yoing the wheel left, right, left in small corrections and full turns.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 14, 2023
Sunday was more or less a rerun of every Heinicke performance, yo-yoing between massive miscues and inexplicable brilliance, which means coaches will have to look at the margins for improvement.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 19, 2022
And amidst the yo-yoing of the whole four, the chaise stopped.
From The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
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.
