Yore means a time long ago, usually remembered with nostalgia or romance. When someone talks about “days of yore,” they're referring to the distant past, often imagining it as simpler or more adventurous than the present.

You'll most often see this word in the phrase of yore. A knight of yore lived centuries ago in medieval times. Ships of yore crossed oceans with only wind and stars to guide them. Games of yore might mean the games your grandparents played as children, before computers and video games.

The word carries a sense of looking back fondly at history. When writers describe “tales of yore,” they're talking about old stories passed down through generations. When someone mentions “in days of yore,” they're setting a scene in an era that feels both distant and somewhat magical in memory, whether that's ancient Rome, the American frontier, or even just a few decades ago.

Yore is rarely used in everyday conversation. You're more likely to encounter it in books, poetry, or when someone wants to sound deliberately old-fashioned or grand when talking about the past.