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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

: 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

: a condition or situation marked by regular fluctuations from one extreme to another

: a stupid or foolish person

See yo–yo defined for English-language learners

See yo-yo defined for kids

Origin of YO-YO

probably from Ilocano yóyo, or a cognate word in a language of the Philippines

First Known Use: 1915

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

Antonyms: brain, genius

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.