yay

¹ American  

[yey] / jeɪ /

interjection

Informal.

1. (an exclamation used to express joy, excitement, etc.)

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yay ² American  

[yey] / jeɪ /

Or yea

adverb

Informal.

1. to the extent, amount, etc., indicated.

   The doll is about yay high.

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yay British  

/ jeɪ /

interjection

1. informal an exclamation indicating approval, congratulation, or triumph

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Etymology

Origin of yay¹

First recorded in 1960–65; perhaps alteration of yeah

Origin of yay²

Probably < yea

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

yay

The circumstances suck, but, yay, it’s a fun ride.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026

I hadn't thought about it till it came out in the press, so yay, yay for me.

From Barron's ● Jan. 17, 2026

The party did not hold a vote when its officers met last week, but it had initially been described to BBC News NI by one source as a "yay or nay" meeting.

From BBC ● Jan. 22, 2024

Roy runs into Phoebe’s teacher — yay, Phoebe, genuinely and always — and she says he seemed “stuck” the last time they spoke, which evidently serves to immediately unstick him.

From New York Times ● May 17, 2023

As he lifted his foot to take the last step he closed his eyes, as the yay had bidden him.

From The Mountain Chant, A Navajo Ceremony Fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1883-84, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1887, pages 379-468 by Washington Matthews