yo-yo
/ˈjəʊ.jəʊ/
"yo-yo" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“yo-yo” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A toy consisting of a spheroidal or cylindrical spindle having a circular groove in which string is wound; it is used by holding the string in the fingers and reeling the spindle up and down by mov...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | yo-yo |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈjəʊ.jəʊ/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “yo-yo” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for yo-yo is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈjəʊ.jəʊ/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No generated misspelling entries exist for yo-yo in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Genericized trademark. Most likely from Ilocano yóyo, or another Philippine cognate. The correct English form is yo-yo, spelled Y-O---Y-O.
Definition
- 1A toy consisting of a spheroidal or cylindrical spindle having a circular groove in which string is wound; it is used by holding the string in the fingers and reeling the spindle up and down by movements of the wrist.
- 2A volatile market that moves up and down.
- 3Someone who vacillates.
- 4A dogfighting maneuver involving the attacker temporarily exchanging altitude for airspeed, or vice versa, in order to rapidly catch up with the defender or to prevent an overshoot.
- 5A cloth rosette formed by gathering the outside edge of a circle of fabric in toward the centre using a running stitch.
- 6A foolish, annoying or incompetent person.
Etymology
Genericized trademark. Most likely from Ilocano yóyo, or another Philippine cognate.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “yo-yo”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is Y-O---Y-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈjəʊ.jəʊ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.