English dictionary — definitions & meanings

ya

intj

An informal way of saying "yes" or "yeah."

yaar

noun

A close friend, pal, or buddy (South Asian usage).

yabby

noun

Any of various freshwater crayfish, typically of the genus Cherax, valued as food, especially Cherax destructor of southeastern Australia.

yacht

noun

A sleek boat, often with sails but sometimes engine-powered, used for pleasure cruising or racing.

yachting

noun

A physical activity involving yachts, such as racing sailing boats, cruising to distant shores, or day-sailing along a coast.

yachtswoman

noun

A woman who sails a yacht.

yada

intj

Used (usually repeated as "yada yada yada") to stand in for boring or predictable details being skipped over.

Yadav

noun

A member of a large community in India and Nepal traditionally associated with cattle-herding and pastoral farming.

yadda

intj

Used repeated ("yadda yadda yadda") to skip over details that are boring, obvious, or not worth spelling out.

yae

noun

The Korean vowel letter ㅒ, romanized "yae."

Yael

name

A feminine given name of Hebrew origin, meaning "ibex" or "mountain goat."

yagger

noun

A fishing boat used to catch herring.

yah

adv

An informal variant of "yes."

yahoo

noun

A loud, rough, or uncultured person.

Yahtzee

name

A dice game in which players roll five dice and score points for various combinations.

Yahweh

name

A name for the God of the Hebrew Bible, rendered from the Tetragrammaton YHWH.

yak

noun

A large, shaggy-haired, ox-like animal from the mountains of Central Asia, including Tibet and Mongolia.

yakfest

noun

A session of chatter or gossip.

yakker

noun

One who yaks; a chatterbox or motormouth.

yakuza

noun

An organized Japanese crime syndicate, or a member of one.

Yale

name

A private university in Connecticut, one of the oldest and most prestigious in the United States.

Yalta

name

A resort city on the Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine, site of the 1945 Yalta Conference between Allied leaders.

yam

noun

A starchy edible root grown as a staple food in tropical regions.

Yama

name

In Hindu and Buddhist mythology, the god of death; also used as a Japanese feminine given name.

Yamada

name

A common Japanese surname meaning "mountain rice field."

Yamaguchi

name

A Japanese surname, also the name of a city and prefecture in Japan, meaning "mouth of the mountain."

Yamaha

name

A major Japanese company that makes motorcycles, musical instruments, and other equipment.

Yamamoto

name

One of the ten most common Japanese surnames, meaning "base of the mountain."

Yamashita

name

A Japanese surname meaning "below the mountain."

Yamato

name

A historical name for Japan, especially referring to the ancient Yamato court that once ruled the country.

Yamazaki

name

A Japanese surname meaning "mountain peninsula" or "mountain cape."

yamete kudasai

phrase

A Japanese expression meaning "please stop", used to ask someone to stop what they are doing.

Yami

name

A Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by the Tao people.

YAML

noun

A plain-text format for writing structured data — lists, settings and named values — designed to be easy for people to read and edit. Instead of brackets, it uses line breaks, dashes and indentation to show how items relate to one another. It stores information; it does not give instructions, so it is not a programming language.

yammer

verb

To complain peevishly.

yammering

noun

Loud, repetitive, and often irritating talk.

yampy

noun

A vegetable, the Indian white yam.

yan

num

One (a dialectal counting word used in traditional Cumbrian and Northumbrian sheep-counting rhymes).

Yana

name

A female given name from Slavic languages, a romanization of names such as Bulgarian, Russian, or Ukrainian Я́на.

yance

adv

once (in both senses: only one time, and formerly)

yancey

name

Ellipsis of Yancey County, North Carolina.

Yancy

name

An English surname, also used as a male given name.

yang

noun

In Chinese philosophy, the active, bright, hot, and masculine principle that pairs with yin to form a balanced whole.

yangtse

name

A gewog of Trashi Yangtse District, Bhutan.

Yangtze

name

The longest river in China and the third-longest in the world, flowing about 6,300 kilometers through central China.

Yangzhou

name

A historic city in Jiangsu province, eastern China.

yangzi

name

A town in Zhongxiang, Jingmen, Hubei, China.

yank

verb

To pull something suddenly and forcefully.

Yankee

noun

An informal term for someone from the United States, especially (historically) the northern states or New England.

Yankees

name

The New York Yankees, a Major League Baseball team based in the Bronx, New York.

yanker

noun

Someone who yanks, or gives a sudden hard pull

Yanni

name

A surname, also familiar as the stage name of the Greek composer and musician Yanni.

Yannick

name

A French male given name derived from the Breton name Yannig.

yano

noun

A shabono, the large communal, ring-shaped hut built by the Yanomami people of the Amazon.

Yao

noun

A member of an ethnic group living across parts of Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania in southeastern Africa.

yap

noun

A high-pitched bark from a small dog.

yapper

noun

A person's mouth, especially one that gossips or talks too much.

yapping

noun

A run of short, sharp barks, especially from a small dog.

yappy

adj

Of a dog, yapping in an annoying manner.

yar

adj

Nimble and quick to handle, especially of a small sailing boat.

yard

noun

An outdoor area next to or enclosed by a building, often with a lawn or garden.

yarden

name

A unisex given name from Hebrew.

Yardley

name

An English surname derived from a place name meaning "enclosed woodland clearing," also the name of towns in England and Pennsylvania.

yards

noun

The horizontal spars on a mast that hold up a square sail, and by extension the sail rigging as a whole.

yardstick

noun

A measuring rod thirty-six inches (one yard) long.

yark

verb

To make ready; prepare.

yarmulke

noun

A small, round skullcap worn by Jewish men, especially during prayer or religious observance.

yarn

noun

Spun fibre thread used for knitting, weaving, or making rope.

yas

intj

Nonstandard spelling of yes.

Yash

name

A male given name of Sanskrit origin, popular in India, meaning "fame" or "glory."

Yasha

name

A Russian diminutive of the male given name Yakov, roughly equivalent to the English name Jake.

yashiro

noun

A Shinto shrine.

Yasmin

name

A feminine given name of Arabic origin, a variant of Jasmine referring to the flower.

yass

particle

Pronunciation spelling of yes.

yassuh

intj

A formal affirmative response, addressed to a man; yes.

Yasuda

name

A Japanese surname meaning "peaceful rice field."

Yasuko

name

A Japanese feminine given name often meaning "peaceful child."

Yasuo

name

A Japanese male given name often meaning "peaceful man."

yat

noun

A letter of the old Cyrillic and Glagolitic alphabets, no longer used in modern spelling.

yate

noun

Any of several species of Eucalyptus.

Yates

name

An English surname derived from Old English "gate," and the name of several small places in the United States.

yatter

noun

Natter; prattle; mindless chatter.

Yau

name

A Chinese surname with several possible origins across Hokkien and Cantonese.

yaw

noun

The rotation of a ship, aircraft, or vehicle from side to side around its vertical axis.

yawl

noun

A small ship's boat, usually rowed by four or six oars.

yawn

verb

To open the mouth wide and take a deep breath involuntarily, usually from tiredness or boredom.

yawning

adj

Wide open, like a gaping mouth.

yawp

verb

To yelp, or utter a sharp cry, as in intense pain, or another raucous noise.

yay

intj

An exclamation of joy, approval, or celebration.

Yayoi

noun

The ancient culture and people of Japan during the Yayoi period, roughly 300 BCE to 300 CE, known for introducing rice farming and metalworking.

ye

pron

An old form of "you," used for addressing more than one person.

yea

adv

Yes; an affirmative reply, now mostly used in formal or archaic contexts.

Yeager

name

A surname of German origin, from Jäger, meaning "hunter."

yeah

particle

An informal way of saying "yes."

year

noun

The time it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun once, about 365 days.

yearbook

noun

A book published once a year summarising events, facts, or statistics.

yearday

noun

Synonym of anniversary, a day occurring in a yearly cycle.

yeardley

name

A unisex given name transferred from the surname, of rare usage.

yearling

noun

An animal that is between one and two years old; one that is in its second year (but not yet two full years old).

yearly

adj

Happening once every year.

yearn

verb

To have a deep, often wistful longing for something or someone.

yearning

noun

A deep, wistful longing for something.

years

noun

A very long stretch of time (informal, used loosely).

yeartide

noun

A specific time of year; season.

yeast

noun

A microscopic fungus used to ferment dough or brew alcohol.

Yeats

name

A surname, most famously borne by the Irish poet and playwright W. B. Yeats.

yed

verb

To speak; sing.

yedding

noun

A song, especially the song of a minstrel.

yee

intj

An informal way of saying "yes."

yeehaw

intj

An exclamation of excitement, often associated with cowboys or rodeo culture.

yeesh

intj

An exclamation expressing exasperation, mild disgust, or relief.

yeet

verb

To throw something hard, fast and carelessly, often without looking where it lands.

yefrem

name

A transliteration of the Russian male given name Ефре́м (Jefrém).

Yegor

name

A Russian male given name, a form of the name Egor.

Yeh

particle

An informal spelling of "yeah," meaning yes.

yehonatan

name

A male given name from Hebrew.

Yehuda

name

A male given name of Hebrew origin, meaning "praised," equivalent to Judah.

yehudit

name

A female given name from Hebrew.

Yelena

name

A feminine given name common in Russian, Bulgarian, and Macedonian, equivalent to Helen.

yelisei

name

A transliteration of the Russian male given name Елисе́й (Jeliséj), equivalent to Elisha.

yell

verb

To shout loudly, especially out of anger, excitement, or fear.

yeller

noun

A person who yells.

Yellin

name

A surname, often of Ashkenazi Jewish origin.

yelling

noun

The act of shouting loudly.

yello

intj

A casual way of saying hello, often used when answering the phone.

yellow

noun

The bright color of lemons, sunflowers, and egg yolks, produced by light around 580 nanometers.

yellowhead

noun

A yellowhead butterflyfish (Chaetodon xanthocephalus).

yellowish

adj

Somewhat yellow in colour.

Yellowstone

name

A national park in the western United States, spanning Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, famous for its geysers and wildlife.

yelp

noun

A short, sharp, high-pitched cry.

yelping

noun

The act of making short, high-pitched cries.

Yeltsin

name

A Russian surname, most notably that of Boris Yeltsin, the first President of the Russian Federation.

Yemen

name

A country on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East, with Sanaa as its capital.

yen

noun

The official currency of Japan, symbol ¥.

yens

pronoun

You all; used to address a group that includes the person being spoken to (regional/dialectal).

Yeo

name

A surname of English, Korean, or Chinese origin, also the name of several rivers in southwest England.

yeoman

noun

Historically, a farmer who owned and worked his own modest plot of land, ranking as a respectable commoner.

yeomanry

noun

A class of small freeholders who cultivated their own land.

Yeong

name

A unisex Korean given name.

yeow

intj

An exclamation of sudden pain or surprise.

yep

intj

An informal way of saying yes.

yer

noun

A hard or soft sign letter (ъ or ь) in Cyrillic alphabets, once representing very short vowel sounds in old Slavic languages.

yerk

verb

To stab (someone or something).

yes

particle

Used to show agreement, acceptance, or confirmation.

yesh

intj

Pronunciation spelling of yes.

yeshiva

noun

A school for the advanced study of Jewish religious texts, especially the Talmud.

yessir

intj

An informal way of saying "yes, sir", used for emphatic agreement.

yessiree

intj

A more enthusiastic way of saying yes.

yessum

contraction

Used to express agreement with a woman (and, somewhat less commonly, a man): yes, ma'am.

yester

adj

Of or pertaining to yesterday.