yikes
Americaninterjection
interjection
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.
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 • Dec. 7, 2025
Those sounds and smells wafted through that side of the building, but if I had lived in a single-family home, they may have come through my window — yikes!
From MarketWatch • Oct. 25, 2025
But as powerful as Oprah is, she isn't subject to the political consequences of "yikes" moments like this one.
From Salon • May 1, 2024
Yes, I can thank it, hug it, take a picture — but then, yikes — tossing it just seems more than I can manage, as I envision it in a landfill, cold, and alone.
From Washington Post • Feb. 20, 2022
Ernie drew air through clenched teeth, as if to say yikes.
From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds
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.
