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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

yo-yo en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈjoː.joː/ (Wales) without the toe–tow merger
  • /ˈjəʊ.jəʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • (US) audio
  • /ˈjo.jo/ (Scotland)
  • /ˈjɐʉ.jɐʉ/ (New-Zealand)
  • /ˈjoʊ.joʊ/ (US)
  • /ˈjəʉ.jəʉ/ (Australia)

Etymology

Genericized trademark. Most likely from Ilocano yóyo, or another Philippine cognate.

Meanings

  1. 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.
    • I bought a yo-yo from the toy store yesterday.
  2. A volatile market that moves up and down.
  3. (informal) Someone who vacillates.
  4. 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.
  5. A cloth rosette formed by gathering the outside edge of a circle of fabric in toward the centre using a running stitch.
  6. (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.
    • Henry glanced past him at the few other customers currently in attendance. "Hey! Any of you yo-yos headed up Castle Hill?" 1991, Stephen King, Needful Things:
    • When these yo-yos came into the courtroom with their ridiculous testimony... it was a terrible circus. 1992 February 2, Mitzel, quoting James Kirkwood, “Clay Shaw, The Quean Network & That Kennedy Killing”, in Gay Community News, volume 19, number 28, page 12:
    • Now look at them yo-yos, that's the way you do it 1985, Sting, Mark Knopfler, “Money for Nothing”, in Brothers in Arms, performed by Dire Straits:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
yo-yos Number=Plur lexicographic

Coordinates

diabolo · whirligig

Deriveds

Chinese yo-yo · yo-yo club · yo-yoer · yo-yo reflux · high yo-yo · yo-yo mode · low yo-yo · yo-yo dieting · yo-yo despin · yo-yo weight

Descendants

yo-yo · jojo

Hyponyms

high yo-yo · low yo-yo

Translations (48)

es yoyó (toy) · no jojo (toy) · es yoyo (toy) · fa یویو (toy) · uk йо-йо́ (toy) · sk jojo (toy) · mr योयो (toy) · ru йо-йо́ (toy) · chr ᏲᏲ (toy) · sv jojo (toy) · nl jojo (toy) · cmn 溜溜球 (toy) · ca io-io (toy) · pl osoba wahająca się (someone who vacillates) · ar يُويُو (toy) · tr yoyo (toy) · pl jo-jo (a cloth rosette) · th โยโย่ (toy) · af jojo (toy) · tr yo-yo (toy) · de Yo-Yo (toy) · yue 搖搖 /摇摇 (toy) · fi jojo (toy) · is jójó (toy) · ur یو یو (toy) · pt ioiô (toy) · pl jo-jo (toy) · uk йойо (toy) · hu jojó (toy) · ms yoyo (toy) · hi योयो (toy) · de Jo-Jo (toy) · hi यो-यो (toy) · it yo-yo (toy) · he יו־יו (toy) · ja ヨーヨー (toy) · sh jo-jo (toy) · pt fuxico (a cloth rosette) · fr yo-yo (toy) · es fufú (toy) · el γιογιό (toy) · uk йо́-йо (toy) · cs jojo (toy) · pl zmienna gospodarka (volatile market) · ru йо́-йо (toy) · sh јо-јо (toy) · ko 요요 (toy) · dv ޔޯޔޯ (toy)

yo-yo en · VERB

Pronunciation

  • /ˈjoː.joː/ (Wales) without the toe–tow merger
  • /ˈjəʊ.jəʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • (US) audio
  • /ˈjo.jo/ (Scotland)
  • /ˈjɐʉ.jɐʉ/ (New-Zealand)
  • /ˈjoʊ.joʊ/ (US)
  • /ˈjəʉ.jəʉ/ (Australia)

Etymology

Genericized trademark. Most likely from Ilocano yóyo, or another Philippine cognate.

Meanings

  1. (intransitive) To vacillate; to move up and down.
    • The yo-yoing stockmarket whizzed back up by around a quarter and then started to fall again. 1990, The Economist, volume 316, page 93:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
yo-yos Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
yo-yoed Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
yo-yoed Tense=Past lexicographic
yo-yoing Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic