1. yo-yo - Noun
2. yo-yo - Verb
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 movements of the wrist.
Coordinate terms: diabolo, whirligig
I bought a yo-yo from the toy store yesterday.
(finance) A volatile market that moves up and down.
(informal) Someone who vacillates.
(aviation, military) A 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.
(sewing) A cloth rosette formed by gathering the outside edge of a circle of fabric in toward the centre using a running stitch.
(informal) A foolish, annoying or incompetent person.
It is hard to watch the management for very long and not conclude that the place is run by a bunch of yo-yos.
yo-yo (third-person singular simple present yo-yos, present participle yo-yoing, simple past and past participle yo-yoed)
(intransitive) To vacillate; to move up and down.
But there was more, as there always is when the love goes. She was haunted, naturally. Otherwise what is the point, why leave your rickety house, and why this yo-yo world giving us things and yanking them back? Daniel Handler
I'd like to look like Madonna when I'm her age. I also look at athletes and love their bodies. I've always wanted to be muscly, not skinny. A lot of women yo-yo around, but I'm always aware if I'm getting a bit out of shape. I never look at the scales but I can just tell. It goes on my tum and bum. Ellie Goulding
L.A. malls are so different than a 'mall' mall like we probably all grew up with that had a food court and the sword shop, the yo-yo kiosk. Eric Wareheim
My weight went up and down like a yo-yo. Judith Light
I'd probably say my biggest yo-yo was when I was finishing up my senior year of college. I lost about 100 pounds and within a year gained it all back. Al Roker
When I hit my thirties, that's when I calmed down and I wasn't so tough on myself. I wasn't doing the yo-yo dieting any more. I gave myself a break. I think that, if you're more accepting of yourself, you're more free and open and can just allow more people in. Nicole Scherzinger