yes

[yes]

adverb

1. (used to express affirmation or assent or to mark the addition of something emphasizing and amplifying a previous statement).

   Do you want that? Yes, I do.

2. (used to express an emphatic contradiction of a previously negative statement or command).

   Don't do that! Oh, yes I will!

3. (used, usually interrogatively, to express hesitation, uncertainty, curiosity, etc.).

   “Yes?” he said as he opened the door. That was a marvelous show! Yes?

4. (used to express polite or minimal interest or attention.)

noun

plural

yeses 

1. an affirmative reply.

verb (used with object)

yessed, yessing 

1. to give an affirmative reply to; give assent or approval to.

interjection

1. (used as a strong expression of joy, pleasure, or approval.)

yes

/ jɛs /

1. used to express acknowledgment, affirmation, consent, agreement, or approval or to answer when one is addressed

2. used, often with interrogative intonation, to signal someone to speak or keep speaking, enter a room, or do something

noun

1. an answer or vote of yes

2. (often plural) a person who votes in the affirmative

Word History and Origins

Origin of yes¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English yes, yis, Old English gēse (adverb and noun), probably equivalent to gēa yea + sī “be it” (present subjunctive singular of bēon “to be”; be )

Word History and Origins

Origin of yes¹

Old English gēse, from iā sīe may it be; see _yea

Example Sentences

The actor, who broke out in the 2022 best picture Oscar winner “CODA,” hadn’t yet read a script for the crime drama, but she enthusiastically replied yes to Ingelsby’s question.

From Los Angeles Times

“It’s been quite a long time together, but, yes, it is the end. Whether there are any more ‘Downton’ rip-offs or connections or whatever, I couldn’t tell you.

From Los Angeles Times

In many cases, she found, the answer is yes.

From Salon

If the answer is yes, you might be in some sort of addiction/dependency crisis.

From Los Angeles Times

"How can you say 'yes' to just one family, and then, 'no' to everyone else?"

From BBC

When To Use

Plural word for yes

The plural form of yes is either yeses or yesses, but yeses is more widely used. The plurals of several other singular words that end in -s are also formed the same way, such as bus/buses/busses, gas/gases/gasses, and lotus/lotuses/lotusses. In some instances, particularly informally, the plural form of yes is written with an apostrophe, as in yes's. This is not considered standard, but it may be easier to understand in some contexts because many people are unfamiliar with the plural form of yes. The word yes is only pluralized when it is used as a noun rather than in its more common use as an adverb. The word yes as a noun means "an answer or vote of yes" or "a person who votes in the affirmative," as in The noes outnumbered the yeses.