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• ou
  ou

  noun

  a rare Hawaiian honeycreeper, Psittirostra psittacea, having an olive-green body, a parrotlike bill, and in the male a bright yellow head.
• OU
  OU

  abbreviation

  the Open University

ou

American  

[oh-oo] / ˈoʊˈu /

Or 'o'u

noun

1. a rare Hawaiian honeycreeper, Psittirostra psittacea, having an olive-green body, a parrotlike bill, and in the male a bright yellow head.

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OU ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. the Open University

2. Oxford University

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ou ² British  

/ əʊ /

noun

1. slang a man, bloke, or chap

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Etymology

Origin of ou

First recorded in 1885–90; from Hawaiian ʿōʿū

Compare meaning

How does ou compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• ou vs. uh

Example Sentences

OU has not publicly commented beyond acknowledging the grade appeal process.

From Salon • Nov. 30, 2025

“We need to make sure that we keep football viable, healthy and competitive at the very highest levels,” said former AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, an OU alum who signed on as an adviser.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025

Goff, who was gay, did not conform to prevailing views about sexuality, either, and left OU in 1955 under what some historians consider to be duress.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 6, 2025

Led by Jizhong Zhou, director of the Institute for Environmental Genomics at OU, this research focused on community assembly, which is about dynamic and complex processes that shape the composition and structure of microbial communities.

From Science Daily • Jan. 18, 2024

MAIS, OU There’s no excuse for mangling words that come from foreign languages.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner