First Known Use: 1915
Dictionary
1yo–yo
noun \ˈyō-(ˌ)yō\
: a round toy that has two flat sides with a string attached to its center, that is held in your hand, and that is made to go up and down by unwinding and rewinding the string with a movement of your wrist
plural yo–yos
Full Definition of YO-YO
1
: a thick grooved double disk with a string attached to its center axle that is made to fall and rise to the hand by unwinding and rewinding on the string
2
: a condition or situation marked by regular fluctuations from one extreme to another
3
: a stupid or foolish person
See yo–yo defined for English-language learners
See yo-yo defined for kids
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Origin of YO-YO
probably from Ilocano yóyo, or a cognate word in a language of the Philippines
Related to YO-YO
- Synonyms
- berk [British], booby, charlie (also charley) [British], cuckoo, ding-a-ling, dingbat, ding-dong, dipstick, doofus [slang], featherhead, git [British], goose, half-wit, jackass, lunatic, mooncalf, nincompoop, ninny, ninnyhammer, nit [chiefly British], nitwit, nut, nutcase, simp, simpleton, turkey, yo-yo
2yo–yo
adjective
Definition of YO-YO
: shifting back and forth or up and down uncertainly or unexpectedly
First Known Use of YO-YO
1932
3yo–yo
verb
: to move repeatedly and quickly up and down or from a higher level to a lower level
yo–yoedyo–yo·ing
Full Definition of YO-YO
intransitive verb
: to move from one position to another repeatedly : fluctuate <the stock price yo–yoed>
See yo–yo defined for English-language learners
First Known Use of YO-YO
1967
YO-YO Defined for Kids
yo–yo
noun \ˈyō-yō\
plural yo–yos also yo–yoes
Definition of YO-YO for Kids
: a small round toy that has two flattened disks with a string attached to the center and that is made to fall and rise to the hand by unwinding and rewinding on the string
Word History of YO-YO
Yo-yo comes from a similar sounding word in languages of the Philippines, where it is the name for a toy similar to our yo-yo. Though toys like the yo-yo have a long history in Europe and the Americas—a disk on a string called a whirligig was patented in 1866—the modern yo-yo dates from 1928, when an immigrant from the Philippines named Pedro Flores began to manufacture the toys in California based on the yo-yos he had known in his youth.
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