I. ˈyēld, esp before pause or consonant ˈyēəld verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English yielden, yelden, for Old English gieldan, geldan; akin to Old High German geltan to pay, render, requite, Old Norse gjalda, Gothic forgildan, and perhaps to Old Slavic žlĕsti to pay
transitive verb
1. archaic : to give a reward to : recompense , requite , reward — used chiefly as an expression of gratitude or goodwill
tend me tonight two hours … and the gods yield you for't — Shakespeare
2. : to give or render as fitting, rightfully owed, or required
yield him obedience in lawful things — G.P.R.James
3. archaic : return 5b
he yielded to this suggestion a ready and rapturous assent — Charles Dickens
4.
a. archaic : to hand over : deliver , offer , present
our soul cannot but yield you forth to public thanks — Shakespeare
b. : to grant as an act of grace or as a concession : give or bestow as a favor
the king yielded the citizens the right of justice — J.R.Green
refused to yield passage
5. : to give up possession of upon claim or demand: as
a. : to give up (as one's breath, life, or spirit) and so die or expire
yielded up the ghost and was gathered unto his people — Gen 49:33 (Authorized Version)
b. : to surrender or relinquish to the physical control of another : hand over possession of
refused to yield the fortress to the enemy
— sometimes used with up
the Indians agreed … to yield up their British flags — Grace L. Nute
c. : to surrender or submit (oneself) to another
each Babylonian woman was in duty bound … to yield herself to a stranger — H.M.Parshley
emotions do not yield themselves readily to a verbal pin — Ernest & Pearl Beaglehole
d. : to give (oneself) up to an inclination, temptation, or habit : submit, give over, or incline (oneself) to some influence : dedicate or devote (oneself) to something
a temptation to which he yielded himself — H.O.Taylor
she yielded herself up … to the rhythm of a waltz — Victoria Sackville-West
e.
(1) : to relinquish one's possession of (as a position of advantage or point of superiority)
yield precedence
traffic required to yield right of way
yielded the premiership to his rival
(2) : to relinquish (as the floor or a period of allotted speaking time) to another member of a legislative assembly
yield the floor to the senator from Nebraska
f. : to hand over or resign to the moral control of another : give to another the political, economic, or social direction of : relinquish
yield sovereignty to an international organization
yielded her heart to another
6.
a. obsolete : to acknowledge as being correctly specified : allow , concede
I yield it just … and submit — John Milton
b.
(1) : to admit the validity or cogency of
yielded the point
unwilling to yield the argument
(2) archaic : consent , agree
yielded to ask for mercy — Jane West
c. obsolete : to admit to be true : concede to be so
hard … to yield they have done amiss — Nicholas Rowe
7.
a. : to bear or bring or put forth as a natural product especially as a result of cultivation
clover seed … yields from 6 to 10 bushels on the cutover lands — American Guide Series: Minnesota
b. : to furnish as output or as return or result of expended effort
their soil yields treasures of every kind — H.T.Buckle
c. : to produce as a result : give as a product
this prediction is susceptible of a test which yields a yes or no answer — J.B.Conant
d. : to give up in response to one's efforts : render as the result of the application of skill, persistence, or hard work
words, under the analyses now indicated, yield the history of their origin — Edward Clodd
— often used with up
caves … which have not yet yielded up their secrets to the eyes of man — Bill Beatty
8. : to give forth : discharge , emit
air-swept lindens yield their scent — Matthew Arnold
9.
a. : to produce or furnish to supply a need : provide for use or to serve a purpose : afford
cotton can be treated to yield a series of products — Industrial & Engineering Chemistry
several makes of engine yield considerably more power — Grenville Manton
the language too condensed to yield quotable lines — J.D.Hart
b. : to give rise to : cause , occasion
the election yielded only one surprise
c.
(1) : to produce as return from an expenditure or investment : furnish as profit or interest : pay , return
an investment that now yields him 6 percent
first steam whaler afloat … yielded $151,000 net — American Guide Series: Connecticut
it will prosper and yield a fair return on the … investment — Leo Wolman
(2) : to produce as revenue : bring in
a levy … was proposed in order to yield £4 million — Alzada Comstock
d. obsolete : to present to view : exhibit
10. : to give up (as a run or hit) in baseball
yielded a triple to left
intransitive verb
1. : to make or give a return : be fruitful or productive : bear , produce
the impoverished soil would not yield without application of fertilizers — American Guide Series: Maryland
the apple trees did not yield well this year
2. : to give up and cease resistance or contention: as
a. : to surrender and concede being defeated, vanquished, or worsted
the enemy suddenly yielded — M.R.Cohen
b. : to cease opposition : give up the contest : submit , succumb
after several hours of debate, the opposition yielded
c. : to cease to withstand the effect of some action
short words which nowhere yield to analysis — Edward Sapir
whole passages yield neatly when translated by shorthand — Fletcher Pratt
d. : to agree to accept or comply with something : exhibit willingness rather than opposition : defer
yielded to the secondary role for which his talent equipped him — Van Wyck Brooks
3. : to give way to pressure or influence exerted upon one : submit to urging, persuasion, or entreaty : consent or agree to something : cease opposition or objection to something : comply with something
if you yield to that impulse — T.B.Costain
yield to the urgent invitation — D.S.Muzzey
refused to yield to their demands
yields to her seducer with hardly a struggle — T.S.Eliot
4.
a. : to give way under physical force so as to bend, stretch, or break
the dirt road was so soft it yielded to the foot like a feather bed — American Guide Series: New York City
nylon does not yield to stretch as readily as rubber yarns — W.E.Shinn
b. : to lose power of resistance to some physical action or agent (as pressure, friction, or heat) so as to be affected by it
ores that yield readily to reduction processes — American Guide Series: Washington
the door suddenly yielded to her hand — Jane Austen
c. : to permit oneself to be deflected : change one's course in deference : turn aside
refused to yield a particle from his resolution
5.
a. : to give place or precedence (as to one having superior right or claim) : acknowledge the superiority of someone else
I yield to no one in my respect for his creative program — R.N.Denney
the way of life of these peoples must yield to the culture of the white man — Current Biography
the acts of New York must yield to the law of Congress — John Marshall
b. : to be inferior in some often specified respect
their mutton yields to ours but their beef is excellent — Jonathan Swift
c. : to give way to or be succeeded by someone or something else
pavements … yielded to dirt roads — Giorgio de Santillana
the cold thin air of the mountains yielded to sweltering heat as they descended — Bernard De Voto
hard conditions of life … yielded to more propitious circumstances — Van Wyck Brooks
6. : to relinquish the floor of a legislative assembly (as for a period of time or a question)
yield to the senator from Connecticut
Synonyms:
submit , capitulate , succumb , bow , defer , relent : yield is a general term referring to any sort of giving in before force, domination, argument, entreaty, appeal
after some further argument I yielded the point — W.H.Hudson †1922
went into the Peace Conference willing to yield everything to English interests — H.L.Mencken
not a man to yield weakly — Havelock Ellis
submit more strongly indicates giving up after conflict, contention, or resistance to the will, control, or disposition of another
not only has faith in divine Providence but submits to it humbly — Herbert Agar
must submit ourselves to the will of God — Mary Austin
tamely submitted to the rebuffs — A.T.Quiller-Couch
capitulate centers attention on a definite act of surrendering or giving up to a stronger force or power
how easily we capitulate to badges and names, to large societies and dead institutions — R.W.Emerson
the universities would capitulate to a young, vigorous and revolutionary creed, in tune with the Zeitgeist — Walter Moberly
succumb is likely to indicate utter yielding through weakness or exhaustion
succumbing before the barbarian invasions — H.O.Taylor
presidents who have attempted independent action have soon succumbed to the power of the government — Ernest Barker
bow may be used in reference to situations in which a party that has not been vanquished gives in or yields for politic or courteous reasons
their habit of bowing to public opinion — Bertrand Russell
bowed to political expediency and requested Blair's resignation — W.E.Smith
soon learned to bow before his wife's more stormy moods — Samuel Butler †1902
defer strongly connotes yielding brought about by respect for another or for his position or authority
everybody must defer … a nation must wait upon her decision, a dean and chapter truckle to her wishes — Victoria Sackville-West
the banker who was a free man, who ran his own bank in his own way, deferring only slightly to the nonsense of the federal bank inspectors — W.A.White
relent is used in situations in which a dominant party abates his rigor or mollifies his wrath because of entreaty, consideration, or resurgence of easier nature
might have relented and repented having wrung a promise from her — Margaret Deland
Synonym: see in addition bear , relinquish .
II. noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English yelde, from yelden to yield
1. : something (as the amount, quantity, or product) yielded: as
a.
(1) : the aggregate of products resulting from growth or cultivation
a goodly yield of fruit — Francis Bacon
an increased yield per acre
yields average over twenty pounds of fruit per plant — Irish Independent
(2) : the aggregate of products resulting from a chemical reaction and usually expressed as the percentage actually obtained of the amount theoretically possible
(3) : the amount of explosive energy expended by a nuclear explosion usually expressed in kilotons of TNT that would produce an explosion resulting in the expending of the same amount of energy
b. : the quantity of a product resulting from exploitation of natural resources
the yield of a well in barrels of oil
fishermen … are finding that the yield per hour of trawling is dropping — Irish Digest
c. : the revenue obtained from a tax or levy
d. : the return upon a financial investment usually expressed as a percentage of cost
the yield on a bond
a 4 5 yield
e. : the actual or the normal product of a stand of timber
f. : the number of proof gallons of spirit obtained from a bushel of grain in distilling
2.
a. : the capacity of yielding produce or other product
a fruit belt owes its abundant yield to climatic conditions — American Guide Series: Michigan
b. : the capacity to yield under pressure or tension
a material with high yield