<B>yard goods,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> cloth cut to measure and sold by the yard. <BR> <I>Ex. There was no doubt that he had made a mistake in judgment in the autumn when he had ordered the yard goods for his spring line (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="yardgrass">
<B>yard grass,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a kind of wire grass with flowering spikes, commonly found as a weed in backyards; dog's-tail. </DL>
<A NAME="yardland">
<B>yardland, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an area of land held by a tenant in villeinage in early English manors, varying in different counties from 15 to 40 acres. </DL>
<A NAME="yardline">
<B>yard line,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> any one of the white lines that divide a football field every five yards. </DL>
<A NAME="yardman">
<B>yardman</B> (1), noun, pl. <B>-men.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a man who has charge of, or works in, a yard, such as railroad yard. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=gardener.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="yardman">
<B>yardman</B> (2), noun, pl. <B>-men.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a sailor working on the yards of a ship. </DL>
<A NAME="yardmaster">
<B>yardmaster, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the man in charge of a railroad yard. </DL>
<A NAME="yardofale">
<B>yard of ale,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a deep, slender glass for holding several pints of liquor. <BR> <I>Ex. Yards of ale are a specialty of the house (Craig Claiborne).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the amount of liquor contained in such a glass. </DL>
<A NAME="yardstick">
<B>yardstick, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a stick one yard long, used for measuring; 36-inch ruler. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) any standard of judgment or comparison. <BR> <I>Ex. What yardstick do you use to decide whether your conduct is right or wrong? The food chains ... have shown a declining trend in those two critical yardsticks for at least five years (Advertising Age).</I> (SYN) criterion, gauge. </DL>
<A NAME="yardwand">
<B>yardwand, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Especially British.) a yardstick. </DL>
<A NAME="yare">
<B>yare, </B>adjective, adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>alert, nimble, active, brisk, or quick. <DD><B> 2. </B>(of a ship) easily steered or managed. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Archaic.) <DD><B> a. </B>ready; prepared. <DD><B> b. </B>ready for use. <DD><I>adv. </I> (Obsolete.) <B>1. </B>readily; promptly. <DD><B> 2. </B>well; thoroughly. adv. <B>yarely.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="yarl">
<B>yarl, </B>noun. <B>=jarl.</B></DL>
<A NAME="yarmelke">
<B>yarmelke, </B>noun. <B>=yarmulka.</B></DL>
<A NAME="yarmouth">
<B>Yarmouth, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Geology.) of or having to do with the second interglacial stage in the topographical development of North America, beginning about 320,000 years ago. </DL>
<A NAME="yarmouthbloater">
<B>Yarmouth bloater,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) a herring that has been smoked but not salted. </DL>
<A NAME="yarmulka">
<B>yarmulka</B> or <B>yarmulke, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a skullcap worn by Jewish men and boys, especially for prayer and ceremonial occasions. Also, <B>yarmelke.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="yarn">
<B>yarn, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>any spun thread, especially that prepared for weaving or knitting. <BR> <I>Ex. The woman knits stockings from yarn.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Informal, Figurative.) a story; tale. <BR> <I>Ex. The old sailor made up his yarns as he told them.</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> (Informal.) to tell stories. <BR> <I>Ex. Thomas was yarning and clowning (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="yarndyed">
<B>yarn-dyed, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> made from yarn that was dyed before weaving. </DL>
<B>yarrow, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a common plant with finely divided leaves and close, flat clusters of white or pink flowers; milfoil. It is a European composite herb that has been naturalized in North America <DD><B> 2. </B>any other plant of the same genus. </DL>
<A NAME="yashmak">
<B>yashmak</B> or <B>yashmac, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a double veil concealing the part of the face below the eyes, worn by Moslem women in public. <BR> <I>Ex. Brown eyes, each pair expressionless as the last, peer from behind multi-coloured yashmaks (Punch).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="yataghan">
<B>yataghan</B> or <B>yatagan, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a type of sword used by Moslems, having no guard for the hand and no crosspiece, but usually a large pommel on the end. </DL>
<A NAME="yatter">
<B>yatter, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>=chatter.</B> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>=chatter.</B> <BR> <I>Ex. The yatter over Prohibition died with Repeal (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="yaud">
<B>yaud, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Scottish.) <DD><B> 1. </B>an old mare. <DD><B> 2. </B>a worn-out horse. </DL>
<B>yaupon, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a holly of the southern United States whose leaves have been used as a substitute for tea. Also, <B>yopon.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="yautia">
<B>yautia, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a tropical plant of the West Indies and South America whose starchy tuber is used for food. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=taro.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="yavis">
<B>YAVIS, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) Young, Attractive, Verbal, Intelligent, and Successful. <BR> <I>Ex. As has been pointed out many times, psychotherapists prefer to work with people who have the YAVIS Syndrome ... and psychotherapy has been found to work most effectively with such people (Science News).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="yaw">
<B>yaw, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to turn from a straight course; go unsteadily. <DD><B> 2. </B>(of an aircraft) to turn from a straight course by a motion about its vertical axis. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to cause (a ship, aircraft, or missile) to yaw. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a movement from a straight course. (SYN) deviation. <DD><B> 2. </B>the amount of this. </DL>
<A NAME="yawl">
<B>yawl</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a type of boat rigged like a sloop, with a large mast near the bow and a short mast near the stern, usually aft of the rudder post. <DD><B> 2. </B>a ship's boat rowed with four or six oars. </DL>
<B>yawmeter, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an instrument for measuring the yaw of an aircraft. </DL>
<A NAME="yawn">
<B>yawn, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to open the mouth wide because one is sleepy, tired, or bored. <BR> <I>Ex. The reader must not yawn, or yield to tickles in the throat, or tire of the tale in the middle (London Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to open wide; gape. <BR> <I>Ex. The canyon yawned beneath our feet.</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to utter with a yawn. <BR> <I>Ex. to yawn a reply.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to cause by yawning. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the act of yawning. <BR> <I>Ex. A yawn is often contagious.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>something that yawns; a gaping opening; chasm. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative, Informal.) a tiresome person or thing; a bore. <BR> <I>Ex. He thought the cathedral a big yawn after the marvels of Burgos and Seville (New Yorker).</I> noun <B>yawner.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="yawnful">
<B>yawnful, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> causing one to yawn; tiresome; tedious. <BR> <I>Ex. He writes at yawnful length about ... distortions of his positions (Time).</I> adv. <B>yawnfully.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="yawning">
<B>yawning, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>characterized by or producing yawns; yawny; yawnful. <BR> <I>Ex. The account of the character of Mr. Legge is the most yawning pamphlet I ever read (John Wilkes).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>opening or open wide. <BR> <I>Ex. a lofty pass ... surrounded by yawning precipices (James Gilmour).</I> adv. <B>yawningly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="yawny">
<B>yawny, </B>adjective, <B>yawnier,</B> <B>yawniest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> characterized by a yawn or yawns; inclined to yawning. <BR> <I>Ex. There were those first few unbelievable steps when you are nervously tired and yawny and must learn ... the easy rhythm (Harper's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="yawp">
<B>yawp, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to utter a loud, harsh cry. <BR> <I>Ex. I heard a ghostly, low-pitched yawping (Gwyn Thomas).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) to speak foolishly. <BR> <I>Ex. What're you yawping about?</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to gape. <BR> <I>Ex. They stood yawping at the strangers.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a loud, harsh cry. <BR> <I>Ex. The prevailing interest does not come from Ornette's yawps and squeals (Saturday Review).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) speech or utterance likened to a loud, harsh cry. <BR> <I>Ex. the 'barbaric yawp' of Whitman (Robert Louis Stevenson).</I> <DD> Also, <B>yaup.</B> noun <B>yawper.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="yaws">
<B>yaws, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD> a contagious disease of the tropics, characterized by raspberrylike sores on the skin, especially of the face, hands, and feet, and caused by a spirochete; frambesia. <BR> <I>Ex. Yaws is known the world over as a painful, crippling, and highly contagious disease that covers the body with sores and eventually eats away the outer flesh (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="yaxis">
<B>y-axis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the vertical axis in a system of rectangular coordinates, as on a chart or graph. </DL>
<A NAME="yazidi">
<B>Yazidi, </B>noun, pl. <B>-di</B> or <B>-dis.</B> <B>=Yezidi.</B></DL>
<A NAME="yazoo">
<B>Yazoo, </B>noun, pl. <B>-oo</B> or <B>-oos.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a member of an American Indian tribe that formerly lived along the Yazoo River in Mississippi. </DL>
<A NAME="yb">
<B>Yb</B> (no period),<DL COMPACT><DD> ytterbium (chemical element). </DL>
<A NAME="yb">
<B>Y.B.</B> or <B>YB</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD> yearbook. </DL>
<A NAME="yc">
<B>Y.C.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> Yacht Club. </DL>
<A NAME="ychromosome">
<B>Y chromosome,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> one of the two chromosomes that determine sex. A fertilized egg cell containing a Y chromosome develops into a male. </DL>
<A NAME="yclad">
<B>yclad</B> or <B>y-clad, </B>verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Archaic.) clad; clothed; a past participle of <B>clothe.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="yclept">
<B>yclept</B> or <B>ycleped, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Archaic.) called; named; styled. </DL>
