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yo-yo . In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
yo-yo , but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
yo-yo in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
yo-yo you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Photograph of a national yo-yo champion in Chico, California
Etymology
Formerly a trademark. Most likely from Ilocano yóyo , or another Philippine cognate.
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium .)
Pronunciation
Noun
yo -yo (plural yo-yos )
A toy consisting of a spheroidal or cylindrical spindle having a circular groove in which string is wound ; it is used by holding the string in the fingers and reeling the spindle up and down by movements of the wrist .
Coordinate terms: diabolo , whirligig
I bought a yo-yo from the toy store yesterday.
( finance ) A volatile market that moves up and down.
( informal ) Someone who vacillates .
( aviation , military ) A dogfighting maneuver involving the attacker temporarily exchanging altitude for airspeed , or vice versa, in order to rapidly catch up with the defender or to prevent an overshoot .
( sewing ) A cloth rosette formed by gathering the outside edge of a circle of fabric in toward the centre using a running stitch.
( informal ) A foolish , annoying or incompetent person.
It is hard to watch the management for very long and not conclude that the place is run by a bunch of yo-yos .
1985 , Sting & Mark Knopfler (lyrics and music), “Money for Nothing”, in Brothers in Arms , performed by Dire Straits:Now look at them yo-yos , that's the way you do it
1991 , Stephen King, Needful Things :Henry glanced past him at the few other customers currently in attendance. "Hey! Any of you yo-yos headed up Castle Hill?"
Hyponyms
( dogfight maneuver ) :
Derived terms
Descendants
Translations
Verb
yo -yo (third-person singular simple present yo-yos , present participle yo-yoing , simple past and past participle yo-yoed )
( intransitive ) To vacillate ; to move up and down.
1990 , The Economist , volume 316 , page 93 :The yo-yoing stockmarket whizzed back up by around a quarter and then started to fall again.
References
^ “Yo-yo. ”, in Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , 2021 November 19 (last accessed)
Further reading
Italian
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English yo-yo .
Pronunciation
Noun
yo-yo m (invariable )
( games ) yo-yo
Further reading