Yesterday Definition & Meaning

American

British

Idioms

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Synonyms yesterday American [yes-ter-dey, -dee] / ˈyɛs tərˌdeɪ, -di /

adverb

1. on the day preceding this day.

2. a short time ago.

   Yesterday your money went further.

noun

1. the day preceding this day.

2. time in the immediate past.

adjective

1. belonging or pertaining to the day before or to a time in the immediate past.

   yesterday morning.

yesterday British / -ˌdeɪ, ˈjɛstədɪ /

noun

1. the day immediately preceding today

2. (often plural) the recent past

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adverb

1. on or during the day before today

2. in the recent past

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 yesterday Idioms

1. see not born yesterday.

Other Word Forms

• yesterdayness noun

Etymology

Origin of yesterday

before 950; Middle English; Old English geostran dæg. See yester-, day

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It all feeds a sense that you need to become an AI pro, like, yesterday.

From The Wall Street Journal

“The narrative yesterday was that AI is going to eat software.”

From MarketWatch

“Someone must be feeling good about his last exam! Or did Kekeli smile at you yesterday?”

From Literature

Expectations for the talks led to yesterday’s selloff.

From The Wall Street Journal

In a letter submitted to a federal judge on Monday, the DOJ said: "All documents requested by victims or counsel to be removed by yesterday evening have been removed for further redaction."

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.