Jump to:

• Oklahoma
  Oklahoma

  noun

  a state in the south central United States. 69,919 square miles (181,090 square kilometers). Oklahoma City. OK (for use with zip code), Okla.
• Oklahoma!
  Oklahoma!

  A musical comedy by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It began a new era of sophistication in musical comedy and was the first of several very successful Rodgers and Hammerstein shows. “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning,” “Oklahoma,” and “People Will Say We're in Love” are songs from Oklahoma!

Oklahoma

American  

[oh-kluh-hoh-muh] / ˌoʊ kləˈhoʊ mə /

noun

1. a state in the south central United States. 69,919 square miles (181,090 square kilometers). Oklahoma City. OK (for use with zip code), Okla.

---

Oklahoma British  

/ ˌəʊkləˈhəʊmə /

noun

1. Abbreviation: Okla..   OK.  a state in the S central US: consists of plains in the west, rising to mountains in the southwest and east; important for oil. Capital: Oklahoma City. Pop: 3 511 532 (2003 est). Area: 181 185 sq km (69 956 sq miles)

---

Oklahoma! ¹ Cultural  

1. A musical comedy by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It began a new era of sophistication in musical comedy and was the first of several very successful Rodgers and Hammerstein shows. “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning,” “Oklahoma,” and “People Will Say We're in Love” are songs from Oklahoma!

---

Oklahoma ² Cultural  

1. State in the southwestern United States, bordered by Colorado and Kansas to the north, Missouri and Arkansas to the east, Texas to the south, and New Mexico to the west. Its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.

---

Other Word Forms

• Oklahoman
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Oklahoma

First recorded in 1895–1900; from Choctaw Oklahommaʔ “Indian (i.e., North American Indian)”, equivalent to oklah “people, nation” + ommaʔ “red,” coined by the Choctaw scholar and Presbyterian minister Allen Wright (1826–85), later principal chief of the Choctaw Nation (1866–70), and originally applied to the Indian Territory; see Five Civilized Nations ( def. ), Indian Territory ( def. )

Example Sentences

Mary Millben first traveled to China in 2006 as an exchange student from the University of Oklahoma.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026

In 2023, Oklahoma became the first state with a caregiver tax credit.

From MarketWatch • May 20, 2026

Grant broke the record during the Big Ten title game and is being chased by Oklahoma freshman Kendall Wells, who has hit 37 home runs so far this season.

From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2026

Entering Friday’s Game 5, the Spurs are one win away from an irresistible showdown with defending champ Oklahoma City.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

I bite my lip at the insult, unsure whether—beyond me—her crack was supposed to be about culture, quantum, or the nearly forty tribal Nations within what’s currently called Oklahoma.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith