yo-yo Hear it!

yo-yo definition

☆ yo·-yo (yō′yō′)

noun pl. yo-yos yo′·-yos′

  1. a spool-like toy attached to one end of a string upon which it may be made to spin up and down
  2. Slang a person regarded as stupid, ineffectual, inept, eccentric, etc.

Etymology: < ?: the toy came to the U.S. from the Philippines

adjective

Informal up-and-down; fluctuating; variable

intransitive verb yo-yoed yo′·-yoed′, yo-yoing yo′·-yo′ing

Informal to move up and down; fluctuate; vary

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

yo-yo Usage Examples

Possessives

  • effect: Zooming in and then out creates an ugly ' yo-yo ' effect.

Adjective modifier

  • human: You will be a human yo-yo with the ground rushing up to meet you and falling away just as quickly!

Modifies a noun

  • dieter: Leila had been a yo-yo dieter for most of her adult life.
yo-yo usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

Link to this page:

Cite this page:

MLA Style

"yo-yo." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/yo-yo>

APA Style

yo-yo. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/yo-yo

Comments:

Please or Register to post a comment