What does yeet mean?

Are you wondering why you keep seeing “yeet” in tweets and texts these days? This article’s for you.

“Yeet” first appeared in 2014. Back then, it was used as a noun to describe a dance move that went viral that year.

According to Urban Dictionary, “yeet” as a verb means: “To make a violent motion of any variety, such as a ‘whip,’ or any motion that may be associated with violent camera shake or photo blur.”

“Yeet” is an all-purpose exclamation that can be used to express joy, disgust, or shade. (Youtube)

Put simply, the dance consists of slightly bending your knees while relatively quickly sliding your arms from left to right or with a sharp upper body slide. It’s not too different from the dab, another dance move that has become popular in recent years.

The yeet became popular on social platforms like Twitter, YouTube and Vine, where people broadcast their moves.

Some Vines also show people yelling “yeet” when throwing objects like bags, paper and phones. It’s because “yeet” as a verb can also mean “for the specific purpose of throwing an object forcefully over a long distance.”

Everybody yeets (Youtube)

Yeet can also be used when pranking friends or hitting them because the verb also describe someone who was “greatly or suddenly defeated in a competition such as sports or a video game.”

More recently, the yeet has made it into the popular video game Fortnite, which famously incorporates dance moves as “emotes” in its gameplay. However, there was a major change: the same move was renamed “the dip” in the video game. Here’s the move as in Fortnite:

Funnily enough, the actual grammar involved in the verb “yeet” is debated, although Urban Dictionary points out it should be “yeet” in present tense, “will yeet” in future tense” and “yote” in past tense. Some people choose to say “yeeted,” which is actually a grammar mistake.

From “dance” to “yes”

Since 2014, the term has evolved to become an exclamation rather than a verb. “Yeet” as an exclamation expresses a strong feeling, whether disgust, joy or enthusiasm.

An example would be: “Just got my licence, yeet!” Another example could also be: “I’m not doing that, yeet!”

“Yeet” can be used as an expression conveying enthusiasm(@leianastark/Twitter)

Coming soon: Yeetish? (@xSnowyTaco/Twitter)

“Yeet” also works as a replacement from “yes,” again to convey extreme enthusiasm about the action one is going to undertake. An example of this would be: “Do you want to grab lunch?” “Yeet!”

There you go, that’s the meaning of “yeet” for you. Feeling old yet?

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