yes·ter·day
ˈye-stər-(ˌ)dā 
-dē
1
: on the day last past : on the day preceding today
2
: at a time not long past : only a short time ago
I wasn't born yesterday
1
: the day last past : the day next before the present
2
: recent time : time not long past
3
: past time
—usually used in plural
Examples of yesterday in a Sentence
Adverb
It rained heavily yesterday afternoon.
I mailed the application early yesterday morning.
It was good to see you yesterday.
Noun
Yesterday's game was canceled because of the rain.
The radio program features yesterday's songs as well as today's.
Today's cars aren't all that different from the models of yesterday.
Recent Examples on the Web
Travis Hall, Field & Stream, 26 Apr. 2024
One organizer who spoke at the news conference also said she was attacked by someone posing as a member of the press yesterday.
—Patrick Smith, NBC News, 26 Apr. 2024
Five military horses got loose in central London yesterday, galloping through rush hour crowds, smashing into vehicles and injuring several people before being captured.
—Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 25 Apr. 2024
After a period of huge bullishness over generative AI, investors are starting to freak out about the massive costs involved, as evidenced by the reaction to Meta’s earnings yesterday.
—David Meyer, Fortune, 25 Apr. 2024
The carmaker released its quarterly earnings report yesterday and revealed that its profits fell 55% and revenue fell 9%—figures even worse than many analysts had anticipated.
—Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 24 Apr. 2024
Tesla stock hit its lowest point in a year yesterday.
—Morgan Haefner, Quartz, 18 Apr. 2024
Today's top stories Orenthal James Simpson, known as O.J., died yesterday at 76 after a battle with cancer.
—Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 12 Apr. 2024
The pair arrived here yesterday from Paris, and de Rosnay’s luggage still hasn’t shown up.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 11 Apr. 2024
Noun
In a press release issued yesterday, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) updated the public about the recent movements of 10 gray wolves that were captured in Oregon and released on the Centennial State’s Western Slope last winter.
—Travis Hall, Field & Stream, 26 Apr. 2024
One organizer who spoke at the news conference also said she was attacked by someone posing as a member of the press yesterday.
—Patrick Smith, NBC News, 26 Apr. 2024
Five military horses got loose in central London yesterday, galloping through rush hour crowds, smashing into vehicles and injuring several people before being captured.
—Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 25 Apr. 2024
After a period of huge bullishness over generative AI, investors are starting to freak out about the massive costs involved, as evidenced by the reaction to Meta’s earnings yesterday.
—David Meyer, Fortune, 25 Apr. 2024
The carmaker released its quarterly earnings report yesterday and revealed that its profits fell 55% and revenue fell 9%—figures even worse than many analysts had anticipated.
—Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 24 Apr. 2024
Tesla stock hit its lowest point in a year yesterday.
—Morgan Haefner, Quartz, 18 Apr. 2024
Today's top stories Orenthal James Simpson, known as O.J., died yesterday at 76 after a battle with cancer.
—Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 12 Apr. 2024
The pair arrived here yesterday from Paris, and de Rosnay’s luggage still hasn’t shown up.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 11 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'yesterday.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near yesterday
Cite this Entry
“Yesterday.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yesterday. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
yesterday
1 of 2 adverb
yes·ter·day
ˈyes-tərd-ē
1
: on the day before today
2
: at a time not long past
yesterday
2 of 2 noun1
: the day next before the present
2
: recent time : time not long past
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