yet
adverb /jet/
/jet/
Idioms - used in negative sentences and questions to talk about something that has not happened but that you expect to happen
- (British English) I haven't received a letter from him yet.
- (North American English) I didn't receive a letter from him yet.
- not yet ‘Are you ready?’ ‘No, not yet.’
- We don't yet know what really happened.
- have yet to do something We have yet to decide what action to take (= We have not decided what action to take).
British/American already / just / yetalready / just / yet- Already and yet are usually used with the present perfect tense, but in North American English they can also be used with the simple past tense:
- I already did it.
- Did you eat yet?
- However, this is much more common in spoken than in written English and some Americans do not consider it acceptable, even in speech. The present perfect is more common in North American English and almost always used in British English:
- I’ve already done it.
- Have you eaten yet?
- I already knew this because Mike had told me.
- Just is mostly used with the perfect tenses in British English and with the simple past in North American English:
- (British English) I’ve just had some bad news.
- (North American English) I just got some bad news.
- (used in negative sentences) now; as soon as this
- Don't go yet.
- We don't need to start yet.
- used to emphasize an increase in number or amount or the number of times something happens
- yet more… snow, snow and yet more snow
- yet another… yet another diet book
- yet again Prices were cut yet again (= once more, after many other times).
- the best, longest, etc. something yet used to emphasize that something is the best, longest, etc. thing of its kind made, produced, written, etc. until now/then
- the most comprehensive study yet of his music
- It was the tallest building yet constructed anywhere.
- from now until the period of time mentioned has passed
- He'll be busy for ages yet.
- They won't arrive for at least two hours yet.
- could, might, may, etc. do something yet used to say that something could, might, etc. happen in the future, even though it seems unlikely
- We may win yet.
- (formal) She could yet surprise us all.
- yet worse, more importantly, etc. used to emphasize an increase in the degree of something (= how bad, important, etc. it is) synonym even, still
- a recent and yet more improbable theory
Word OriginOld English gīet(a), of unknown origin.
Idioms
as yet
- until now or until a particular time in the past
- an as yet unpublished report
- As yet little was known of the causes of the disease.
better yet
- used to say that while one thing is good, another thing is even better
- You can see and, better yet, hear the effects of these changes on their website.
- I wanted to make my parents proud by becoming a lawyer or, better yet, a doctor.
not just yet
- not now but probably quite soon
- I can't give you the money just yet.
so near and yet so far
- used to comment on something that was almost successful but in fact failedTopics Difficulty and failurec2