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yikes

American

[yahyks] / yaɪks /

interjection

(an exclamation of surprise or alarm.)

yikes British

/ ˈjaiks /

interjection

informal an expression of surprise, fear, or alarm

"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

Etymology

Origin of yikes

First recorded in 1940–45; possibly from yoicks

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.

Both men have ambitions to be Commander in Chief—yikes.

From The Wall Street Journal

While, American ballet choreographer Kam Saunders - who has worked as a dancer on Taylor Swift's Eras Tour - simply wrote: "Yikes."

From BBC

Door and Coal exchanged yikes faces.

From Literature

I lope through the leaves, leap over a low bush, and—yikes!—company:

From Literature

You know the feeling when you hold Ohio State close and then they get a couple of big plays and you’re like, Oh yikes, here they come?

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023