Definitions
Exclamation showing alarm, shock, or sudden surprise.
Word origin
Attested from mid-20th century, perhaps derived from yoicks, a hunting call used to urge hounds after a fox, which is attested from 1765–1775, that also is sometimes used as an exclamation of excitement or triumph. Yoicks is perhaps related to the earlier hoicks. Hoicks (alternatively hoick, hoic or hoik) is a variant of hyke, which was used as an exclamation of encouragement to hounds hunting deer. Further etymology unknown.
Used in a sentence
“Yikes! A monster!”
“Then she told me I was ‘beautiful, for a black girl’. —Yikes!”
“John has lost his job and can't pay his mortgage; yikes!”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer1 curated clues
01“Alarmed exclamation”5 letters
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