yes

 
Pronunciation: /jɛs/

exclamation

  • 1used to give an affirmative response: ‘Do you understand?’ ‘Yes.’
  • expressing agreement with a positive statement: ‘That was a grand evening.’ ‘Yes, it was.’
  • asked at the end of a statement to indicate the expectation of agreement: you think I perhaps killed Westbourne, yes?
  • expressing contradiction of a negative statement: ‘You don’t want to go.’ ‘Yes, I do.’
  • 2used as a response to someone addressing one or trying to attract one’s attention: ‘Oh, Mr Lawrence.’ ‘Yes?’
  • 3used to question a remark: ‘It should be easy to check.’ ‘Oh yes? How?’
  • 4encouraging someone to continue speaking: ‘When you bought those photographs ...’ ‘Yes?’
  • 5expressing great pleasure or excitement: plenty to eat, including hot hamburger sandwiches (yes!)
  • 6expressing irritation or impatience: ‘Is the pain still there?’ ‘Yes, yes, damn you, the pain is always there’

noun (plural yeses or yesses)

  • an affirmative answer or decision, especially in voting: answering with assured and ardent yeses

Phrases

yes and no

partly and partly not: ‘Did it come as a surprise to you?’ ‘Yes and no.’

Origin:

Old English gēse, gīse, probably from an unrecorded phrase meaning 'may it be so'