yeoman

noun

yeo·​man ˈyō-mən 

1

a

: an attendant or officer in a royal or noble household

b

: a person attending or assisting another : retainer

c

: yeoman of the guard

d

: a naval petty officer who performs clerical duties

2

a

: a person who owns and cultivates a small farm

specifically : one belonging to a class of English freeholders below the gentry

b

: a person of the social rank of yeoman

3

: one that performs great and loyal service

did a yeoman's job in seeing the program through

Examples of yeoman in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

With all due respect to the yeoman’s work that Jovovich and Paul W.S. Anderson did for the Resident Evil adaptations over the years, Welcome to Raccoon City is actually the best Res movie to date. —Jordan Crucchiola, Vulture, 4 Apr. 2025

But on the Blackhawks, he’s done yeoman’s work providing some support for Bedard, with career highs of 23 goals, 28 assists and 51 points. —Mark Lazerus, The Athletic, 21 Mar. 2025

Among those doing yeoman work was the Spectrum News One service run by Charter Spectrum, the nation’s biggest cable provider. —David Bloom, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025

Our Ed Whelan and Andy McCarthy have done yeoman’s work in ensuring that a story the DOJ wanted buried would see the light of day. —The Editors, National Review, 16 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English yoman, yeman

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing yeoman

• yeoman of the guard
• yeoman's/yeoman work/service
• yeoman warder

Rhymes for yeoman

• abdomen
• cognomen
• bowman
• bowmen
• coman
• foeman
• foemen
• gnomon
• nomen
• omen
• roman
• showman

Kids Definition

yeoman

noun

yeo·​man ˈyō-mən 

1

a

: a servant in a royal or noble household

b

: a naval petty officer who works as a clerk

2

: a small landowning farmer