yore
Americannoun
adverb
noun
adverb
Etymology
Origin of yore
before 900; Middle English; Old English geāra
Explanation
If you know someone who dreams of a time long ago, when knights roamed the countryside and engaged in daring and romantic quests, you could say that person longs for “days of yore.” Yore, meaning "a time long ago," is used in the same manner as yesteryear, days gone by, and olden times. Yore has a sentimental or nostalgic tone to it, implying that the olden times being described are in some way superior to the present day. You might hear someone say, “This tragedy wouldn’t have happened in days of yore,” or “The car designs of yore were more imaginative than anything being built today.”
Vocabulary lists containing yore
"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
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Ides, Eon, Epoch, and Era: Time-related Words
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100 SAT words Beginning with W,X,Y, and Z
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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.
Up All Night‘s” epilogue considers the post-pandemic remnants of the glamorous, somewhat gluttonous eves of yore and the effects that smartphones, social media and streaming have had on the art of going out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
He further compared himself to death-defiers of yore like Gilgamesh, Asclepius, and Jesus, while proffering a scientific assessment of why “being mean is bad for your health.”
From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2026
There had been a feeling in some quarters that Ireland were not quite the force of yore, and an opening day defeat in Paris did not bode well.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026
I’d been hesitant about my decision to stay outside of the downtown area, but as the band conjured a Charleston of yore, I knew I’d made the right choice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
“Seein’ yore pa ain’t here to answer, I wonder if you’d be of a mind to tell us where yore brother Bill is these days?
From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt
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.
