Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

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 ] The little dog yapped frantically.

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. □ [+ from ] The incident took place about 500 yards from where he was standing. □  …a long narrow strip of linen two or three yards long. □ [+ of ] …a yard of silk.

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. □  I saw him standing in the yard.

3 N‑COUNT You can refer to a large open area where a particular type of work is done as a yard . □  …a railway yard. □  …a ship repair yard.

4 N‑COUNT A yard is a piece of land next to someone's house, with grass and plants growing in it. [AM ] □  He dug a hole in our yard on Edgerton Avenue to plant a maple tree when I was born. in BRIT, use garden

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. □  There has been no yardstick by which potential students can assess schools.

yarn /jɑː ^r n/ (yarns )

1 N‑VAR Yarn is thread used for knitting or making cloth. □  She still spins the yarn and knits sweaters for her family. □  …vegetable-dyed yarns.

2 N‑COUNT A yarn is a story that someone tells, often a true story with invented details which make it more interesting. □  Doug has a yarn or two to tell me about his trips into the bush.

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 ] As the plane climbed to 370 feet, it started yawing. □ [V prep/adv] He spun the steering-wheel so that we yawed from side to side.

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 ] She yawned, and stretched lazily. ● N‑COUNT Yawn is also a noun. □  Rosanna stifled a huge yawn.

2 N‑SING If you describe something such as a book or a film as a yawn , you think it is very boring. [INFORMAL ] □  The debate was a mockery. A big yawn. □  The concert was a predictable yawn.

3 VERB A gap or an opening that yawns is large and wide, and often frightening. [LITERARY ] □ [V ] The gulf between them yawned wider than ever.

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 . □  The entrance is on the left 200 yds further on up the road.

ye /jiː/

1 PRON Ye is an old-fashioned, poetic, or religious word for you when you are talking to more than one person. □  Abandon hope all ye who enter here.

2 DET Ye is sometimes used in imitation of an old written form of the word 'the'. □  …Ye Olde Tea Shoppe.

yea /je I /

1 CONVENTION Yea is an old-fashioned, poetic, or religious word for 'yes'.