Yewtree

Y4E1W4T1R1E1E1

proper noun

Operation Yewtree

Scrabble 13

Meanings

proper noun
  1. Operation Yewtree
verbYewtree (third-person singular simple present Yewtrees, present participle Yewtreeing, simple past and past participle Yewtreed)

present singular third person Yewtrees · participle present Yewtreeing · participle past Yewtreed · past Yewtreed

  1. UKslangTo investigate historic sexual offences as part of Operation Yewtree, or otherwise reveal or allege someone (especially a celebrity active in the 1970s and 1980s) to be a paedophile or abuser.

    There was a brief return to Dubai after an Operation Yewtreeing that came to nothing, but Jim’s next gig of any note was the 2014 series of Celebrity Big Brother.

    2018 November 22, Marina Hyde, “Jim Davidson gets stuck in an eco protest and bags his biggest audience for years”, in The Guardian
    2 more examples

    Having been born in the late 80s, I remember Saturday night TV through a child’s eyes. Unfortunately, most of the people who were on it have now either died, been Yewtreed, or gone nuts.

    2013 May 28, Bradley Steptoe, “I Tracked Down Mr Blobby’s Lair”, in VICE

    Anyway, this is the last Yewtreed edition of the show until we get to Christmas, when both end-of-year specials are scuppered by their hosts, which is a bit inconvenient.

    2016 January 6, Steve Binnie, Feeling Like a Number One, Lulu.com, →ISBN, archived from the original on 02 Dec 2024, page 197
adjectiveYewtree (comparative more Yewtree, superlative most Yewtree)

comparative more Yewtree · superlative most Yewtree

  1. UKslangA paedophile, specifically one revealed by Operation Yewtree or a similar investigation.

Origin

From Operation Yewtree, an investigation by British police forces into historic sex offences primarily linked to Jimmy Saville. The name Yewtree (from yew tree) was randomly selected from a list of neutral terms.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Yewtree. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Yewtree

MLA

“Yewtree.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Yewtree. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Yewtree,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Yewtree.

Source: Yewtree on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.