yay

¹ American  

[yey] / yeɪ /

interjection

Informal.

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

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yay ² American  

[yey] / yeɪ /

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

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

From Barron's • Jan. 17, 2026

It will kind of never end from here in ways, so you know, yay?

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 19, 2025

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

"A black president, yay, and his black wife."

From BBC • Nov. 15, 2022

Fox Wa goosh Ma kay shish E. yay thay Nag hee dthay.

From Notes of a Twenty-Five Years' Service in the Hudson's Bay Territory Volume II. by M'lean, John