yes-no question

American  

[yes-noh] / ˈyɛsˈnoʊ /

noun

Grammar.

1. a question calling for an answer of yes or no, as Are you ready?

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yes/no question British  

noun

1. grammar a question inviting the answer "yes" or "no" Compare WH question

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Etymology

Origin of yes-no question

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

And that’s one snag to nailing the yes-no question about a bubble.

From Barron's • Oct. 20, 2025

Kavanaugh began droning on about how the limits of prosecutorial discretion require further study before Harris cut him off, repeating a version of the simple yes-no question.

From Slate • Sep. 10, 2018

It took him 12 seconds to muster an answer to the yes-no question, punctuated with nervous laughter and stuttering.

From Washington Post • Feb. 5, 2017

This is a problem of information, that is the idea that every particle and every force in the universe contains information, an implicit answer to a yes-no question.

From BBC • Feb. 2, 2016

His theorem has implications for information, in the cosmologist's sense of information: the idea that every particle and every force in the universe has an implicit answer to a yes-no question.

From BBC • Jan. 26, 2016