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 yes·es.

1. an affirmative reply.

verb (used with object)

, yessed, yes·sing.

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 /

sentence substitute

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

And yes, he’s put in time since then on the road as an opening act for more established country stars such as Morgan Wallen and Cole Swindell.

From Los Angeles Times

"It was a better cover than I imagined. It was just Brandi and it was just one word - the word 'yes'."

From BBC

Higher-income counties were more likely to have voted yes, according to a Times review of voter results, although Orange and San Diego counties voted no.

From Los Angeles Times

“I have received some guidance to avoid terms, like ‘camps,’ that can be twisted and used against the president, yes,” one Trump ally told the outlet.

From Salon

“It’s so powerful in the show when the dad just tells his son that, yes, he does get afraid,” said Hanggi.

From Los Angeles Times

What Is The Plural Of Yes?

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.