1 N‑COUNT A Yankee is a person from a northern or north-eastern state of the United States. [mainly AM ]
2 N‑COUNT Some speakers of British English refer to anyone from the United States as a Yankee . This use could cause offence. [INFORMAL ]
yap
/jæ
p/ (yaps
, yapping
, yapped
) VERB
If a small dog
yaps
, it makes short loud sounds in an excited way. □ [V
]
yard ◆◆◇ /jɑː r d/ (yards )
1
N‑COUNT
[num N
] A
yard
is a unit of length equal to thirty-six inches or approximately 91.4 centimetres. □ [+
2
N‑COUNT
A
yard
is a flat area of concrete or stone that is next to a building and often has a wall around it. □
3
N‑COUNT
You can refer to a large open area where a particular type of work is done as a
yard
. □
4
N‑COUNT
A
yard
is a piece of land next to someone's house, with grass and plants growing in it. [AM
] □
Yar|die /jɑː r di/ (Yardies ) N‑COUNT A Yardie is a member of a secret criminal organization, based in Jamaica, which is especially associated with drug dealing. [BRIT ]
ya rd sale (yard sales ) N‑COUNT A yard sale is a sale where people sell things they no longer want from a table outside their house. [AM ]
yard|stick
/jɑː
r
dst
I
k/ (yardsticks
) N‑COUNT
If you use someone or something as a
yardstick
, you use them as a standard for comparison when you are judging other people or things. □
yarn /jɑː r n/ (yarns )
1
N‑VAR
Yarn
is thread used for knitting or making cloth. □
2
N‑COUNT
A
yarn
is a story that someone tells, often a true story with invented details which make it more interesting. □
yaw
/jɔː
/ (yaws
, yawing
, yawed
) VERB
If an aircraft or a ship
yaws
, it turns to one side so that it changes the direction in which it is moving. [TECHNICAL
] □ [V
]
yawn /jɔː n/ (yawns , yawning , yawned )
1
VERB
If you
yawn
, you open your mouth very wide and breathe in more air than usual, often when you are tired or when you are not interested in something. □ [V
]
2
N‑SING
If you describe something such as a book or a film as
a yawn
, you think it is very boring. [INFORMAL
] □
3
VERB
A gap or an opening that
yawns
is large and wide, and often frightening. [LITERARY
] □ [V
]
Y chro|mo|some (Y chromosomes ) N‑COUNT A Y chromosome is the chromosome in a man's cells which will produce a male baby if it joins with a female's X chromosome. Y chromosomes are associated with male characteristics. Compare X chromosome .
yd
(yds
) also
yd.
yd
is a written abbreviation for
yard
. □
ye /jiː/
1
PRON
Ye
is an old-fashioned, poetic, or religious word for
you
when you are talking to more than one person. □
2
DET
Ye
is sometimes used in imitation of an old written form of the word 'the'. □
yea /je I /
1 CONVENTION Yea is an old-fashioned, poetic, or religious word for 'yes'.