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

In Altadena, Darlene Greene still did yeoman’s work to support her struggling constituents, and—in the absence of help from above—residents became the leaders their community needed. —Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 10 Nov. 2025

His dad Marty, an entrepreneur, did the yeoman’s work, lifting Ben out of bed and into his chair, then bathing and feeding him each day. —Nick Stern, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2025

The man is a yeoman on the diamond, having spent the past couple of seasons showing up early and sweating out infield drills to refine his skills at shortstop. —Mirjam Swanson, Oc Register, 29 Oct. 2025

Jackson could give the Eagles yeoman’s work at the position that allows the Eagles to get by until next offseason. —Zach Berman, New York Times, 17 Oct. 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