Yahoo!

/ˈjɑːhuː//jɑːˈhuː/

proper noun

A web portal and search engine located at yahoo.com.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

proper noun

alternative Yahoo

  1. InternettrademarkA web portal and search engine located at yahoo.com.

Origin

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the name itself is an acronym for “Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle”, incorporated in 1995. However, other sources claim the main inspiration by founders Jerry Yang and David Filo originates from Yahoo, the race of barbaric beings from the Jonathan Swift novel Gulliver's Travels (perhaps with a semantic notion of strongly exploring the then-"wild" late 90s Internet), thence the acronym apparently being a backronym. Also compare Etymology 2 of yahoo; the exclamation point was supposedly added to "strengthen" the trademark.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic يَاهُو!, يَاهُو
  • يَاهُو! (yāhū!)a popular web portal
  • يَاهُو (yāhū)a popular web portal
Bengali ইয়াহু!, ইয়াহু
  • ইয়াহু! (iẏahu!)a popular web portal
  • ইয়াহু (iẏahu)a popular web portal
Bulgarian Яху́!, Яху́
  • Яху́! (Jahú!)a popular web portal
  • Яху́ (Jahú)a popular web portal
Chinese Mandarin 雅虎！, 雅虎
  • 雅虎！ (Yǎhǔ!)a popular web portal
  • 雅虎 (Yǎhǔ)a popular web portal
Estonian Yahoo!
  • Yahoo!a popular web portal
Finnish Yahoo!
  • Yahoo!a popular web portal
Greek Γιάχου!, Γιάχου
  • Γιάχου! (Giáchou!)a popular web portal
  • Γιάχου (Giáchou)a popular web portal
Hindi याहू!, याहू
  • याहू! (yāhū!)a popular web portal
  • याहू (yāhū)a popular web portal
Japanese ヤフー！, ヤフー
  • ヤフー！ (Yafū!)a popular web portal
  • ヤフー (Yafū)a popular web portal
Korean 야후!, 야후
  • 야후! (Yahu!)a popular web portal
  • 야후 (Yahu)a popular web portal
Malay Yahoo!
  • Yahoo!a popular web portal
Persian یاهو!, یاهو
  • یاهو! (yâhu!)a popular web portal
  • یاهو (yâhu)a popular web portal
Portuguese Yahoo
  • Yahooa popular web portal
Russian Яху́!, Яху́
  • Яху́! (Jaxú!)a popular web portal
  • Яху́ (Jaxú)a popular web portal
Swedish Yahoo!
  • Yahoo!a popular web portal
Thai ยาฮู!, ยาฮู
  • ยาฮู! (yaahoo!)a popular web portal
  • ยาฮู (yaahoo)a popular web portal
Turkish Yahoo!
  • Yahoo!a popular web portal
Ukrainian Яху́!, Яху́
  • Яху́! (Jaxú!)a popular web portal
  • Яху́ (Jaxú)a popular web portal
Urdu یاہو!, یاہو
  • یاہو! (yāhū!)a popular web portal
  • یاہو (yāhū)a popular web portal
Cite this entry
APA

Yahoo!. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Yahoo%21

MLA

“Yahoo!.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Yahoo%21. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Yahoo!,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Yahoo%21.

Source: Yahoo! on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.