yeehaw

[ yee-haw ]

interjection

, Informal

1. (used as an exclamation expressing celebration, delight, or joy, and associated with cowboys or the culture of the rural or southwestern United States):

   Yeehaw! Tomorrow's the rodeo!

noun

1. the exclamation “yeehaw”:

   She jumped on the bull and gave a loud yeehaw.

verb (used without object)

1. to exclaim or utter “yeehaw”:

   They yeehawed as they rode by in the truck.

adjective

1. Slang: Sometimes Disparaging. of or relating to cowboys or to the culture of the rural or southern United States: I'm wearing the most yeehaw outfit of my life to the bar tonight—cowboy hat and fringe.

   Birthing a calf by myself in the middle of the night is the most yeehaw thing I've done as a farmer.

   I'm wearing the most yeehaw outfit of my life to the bar tonight—cowboy hat and fringe.

   I hate living in this yeehaw state! I want to move to New York City!

Word History and Origins

Origin of yeehaw¹

First recorded in 1940–45; of imitative origin; yahoo ( def )

Example Sentences

As a part of the “Yeehaw Agenda,” Beyoncé has been known to rock the Black Western aesthetic in recent years.

From Los Angeles Times

The new Scrabble book includes at least one old-fashioned word that simply fell under the radar for years: yeehaw.

From Seattle Times

“Yeehaw is like so many of the older, informal terms. They were more spoken than written, and the gold standard for dictionary editing was always written evidence. So a term like yeehaw, which we all know from our childhood and in movies and TV, was something you heard. You didn’t read it that often,” Sokolowski said.

From Seattle Times

Yeehaw, meet bae, inspo, vibed and vibing, all new additions to the Scrabble dictionary.

From Seattle Times

Speaking of cutting loose, during a showdown late in the season, you let out a somewhat deranged version of the classic Western “Yeehaw!”

From New York Times