Numbers dressed up in fancy suits pretending to be words.
The income an investment generates, expressed as a percentage that makes everything sound reasonable until you do the actual math. A 5% yield sounds great until you realize your $1,000 investment earns you enough for a mediocre dinner for two.
The total return anticipated on a bond if held until it matures, accounting for current price, par value, coupon interest, and time to maturity. It's what you'll earn assuming the issuer doesn't default, which is a bigger assumption than bond investors like to admit.
The return on an investment expressed as a percentage, or what you actually get back from parking your money somewhere instead of spending it on something fun. In finance, yield is the carrot that convinces people to buy bonds, stocks, or real estate despite all the associated anxiety. Higher yields usually mean higher risk, which is the market's way of saying 'we'll pay you more to ignore these red flags.'