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  • O
    O
    noun
    the fifteenth letter of the English alphabet, a vowel.
  • o'
    o'
    preposition
    a shortened form of of, as in o'clock or will-o'-the-wisp.
  • O'
    O'
    a prefix meaning “descendant,” in Irish family names.
  • o-
    o-
    an abridgment of ortho-.
  • -o
    -o
    a suffix occurring as the final element in informal shortenings of nouns (ammo; combo; condo; limo; promo ); -o also forms nouns, usually derogatory, for persons or things exemplifying or associated with that specified by the base noun or adjective (cheapo; pinko; sicko; weirdo; wino ).
  • o.
    o.
    abbreviation
    pint.
  • -o-
    -o-
    the typical ending of the first element of compounds of Greek origin (as -i- is, in compounds of Latin origin), used regularly in forming new compounds with elements of Greek origin and often used in English as a connective irrespective of etymology.
  • O.
    O.
    abbreviation
    (in prescriptions) a pint.
  • o
    o
    noun
    the 15th letter and fourth vowel of the modern English alphabet
  • O'-
    O'-
    prefix
    (in surnames of Irish Gaelic origin) descendant of
Synonyms

O

1 American  
[oh] / oʊ /
Or o

noun

  • O's,
    plural
  • Os,
    plural
  • o's,
    plural
  • os,
    plural
  • oes
    plural
  1. the fifteenth letter of the English alphabet, a vowel.

  2. any spoken sound represented by the letter O or o, as in box, note, short, or love .

  3. something having the shape of an O .

  4. a written or printed representation of the letter O or o.

  5. a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter O or o.


O 2 American  
[oh] / oʊ /

interjection

  1. (used before a name in direct address, especially in solemn or poetic language, to lend earnestness to an appeal).

    Hear, O Israel!

  2. (used as an expression of surprise, pain, annoyance, longing, gladness, etc.)


noun

  • O's
    plural
  1. the exclamation “O.”

O 3 American  

abbreviation

  1. Grammar. object.

  2. Old.


O 4 American  
Symbol.
  1. the fifteenth in order or in a series.

  2. the Arabic cipher; zero.

  3. (sometimes lowercase) the medieval Roman numeral for 11.

  4. Physiology. a major blood group, usually enabling a person whose blood is of this type to donate blood to persons of group O, A, B, or AB and to receive blood from persons of group O.

  5. Chemistry. oxygen.

  6. Logic. particular negative.


o' 5 American  
[uh, oh] / ə, oʊ /

preposition

  1. a shortened form of of, as in o'clock or will-o'-the-wisp.

  2. Chiefly Dialect. a shortened form of on.


O' 6 American  
  1. a prefix meaning “descendant,” in Irish family names.

    O'Brien; O'Connor.


o- 7 American  
Chemistry.
  1. an abridgment of ortho-.


o- 8 American  
  1. variant of ob- before m:

    omission.


o- 9 American  
  1. variant of oo-.

    oidium.


-o 10 American  
  1. a suffix occurring as the final element in informal shortenings of nouns (ammo; combo; condo; limo; promo ); -o also forms nouns, usually derogatory, for persons or things exemplifying or associated with that specified by the base noun or adjective (cheapo; pinko; sicko; weirdo; wino ).

  2. a suffix occurring in colloquial noun or adjective derivatives, usually grammatically isolated, as in address.

    cheerio; kiddo; neato; righto.


o. 11 American  

abbreviation

  1. pint.


o. 12 American  

abbreviation

  1. octavo.

  2. off.

  3. old.

  4. only.

  5. order.

  6. Baseball. out; outs.


-o- 13 American  
  1. the typical ending of the first element of compounds of Greek origin (as -i- is, in compounds of Latin origin), used regularly in forming new compounds with elements of Greek origin and often used in English as a connective irrespective of etymology.

    Franco-Italian; geography; seriocomic; speedometer.


O. 14 American  

abbreviation

  1. (in prescriptions) a pint.


O. 15 American  

abbreviation

  1. Ocean.

  2. octavo.

  3. October.

  4. Ohio.

  5. Old.

  6. Ontario.

  7. Oregon.


O 1 British  

symbol

  1. chem oxygen

  2. a human blood type of the ABO group See universal donor

  3. logic a particular negative categorial proposition, such as some men are not married: often symbolized as SoP Compare A E I 2

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

abbreviation

  1. slang offence

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
o 2 British  
/ əʊ /

noun

  1. the 15th letter and fourth vowel of the modern English alphabet

  2. any of several speech sounds represented by this letter, in English as in code, pot, cow, move, or form

  3. another name for nought

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

O 3 British  
/ əʊ /

interjection

  1. a variant spelling of oh

  2. an exclamation introducing an invocation, entreaty, wish, etc

    O God!

    O for the wings of a dove!

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

O'- 4 British  

prefix

  1. (in surnames of Irish Gaelic origin) descendant of

    O'Corrigan

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

-o 5 British  

suffix

  1. forming informal and slang variants and abbreviations, esp of nouns

    wino

    lie doggo

    Jacko

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

-o- 6 British  
  1. used to connect elements in a compound word Compare -i-

    chromosome

    filmography

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

o- 7 British  

prefix

  1. short for ortho-

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

o' 8 British  
/ ə /

preposition

  1. informal shortened form of of

    a cup o' tea

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of O2

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin ō

Origin of o'5

From Middle English; by shortening

Origin of O'6

Representing Irish ó descendant, Old Irish au

Origin of -o10

Perhaps originally the interjection O, appended to words as in -o def. 2; as a derivational suffix reinforced by clipped forms of words with -o- as a linking element (e.g., photo, stereo ), by Rom nouns ending in o, and by personal nouns such as bimbo and bozo, of obscure origin

Origin of o.11

From the Latin word octārius

Origin of -o-13

Middle English (< Old French ) < Latin < Greek

Origin of O.14

From the Latin word octārius

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The fest will feature a star-studded, all-women lineup including Rodrigo, Chappell Roan, Mitski, Doechii and special guests Karen O, Sarah McLachlan and Stevie Nicks.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 28, 2026

A delicious word salad: How many words can you create with the letters Y, B, O, F, U, and N?

From Slate Aug. 18, 2026

Up until the Big O, I’ve lived by that rule.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 7, 2026

In response, Evans said Baby O was born in good condition.

From BBC Jul. 22, 2026

"And this change, O most learned Prince, has doubtless been brought to pass by the powerful incantations of those wicked persons who now call themselves kings and queens of Narnia."

From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis

Hobro said they were often mistaken for Portuguese man o' war but were much smaller, "brighter blue" and "generally harmless".

From BBC Jun. 18, 2026

“Coffee badging”—going to the office just long enough to show your face and grab a cup o’ joe—was a popular workaround.

From The Wall Street Journal Dec. 30, 2025

These sea snails are also voracious predators themselves and feast upon free-floating hydrozoan such as Velella velella and Portuguese man o’ war.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 23, 2025

Any way you slice it, this week’s Slate News Quiz is a piece o’ fun.

From Slate Nov. 1, 2024

Why'd he bet his family's trailer instead o' just money?”

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

Former basketball player Shaquille O’ Neal is also a high-profile investor.

From MarketWatch Nov. 19, 2025

Girls summer camp Heart O’ the Hills is just a mile north of Camp Mystic.

From Salon Jul. 7, 2025

But Heart O’ the Hills confirmed that its camp director, Jane Ragsdale, is one of the flood’s victims .

From Salon Jul. 7, 2025

Heart O' the Hills wasn't in session and "most of those who were on camp at the time have been accounted for and are on high ground", the statement said.

From BBC Jul. 5, 2025

After a single trip to the supermarket, the refrigerator and the cupboards fill with familiar labels: Skippy, Hood, Bumble Bee, Land O’ Lakes.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

At week's end a Russian delegation got the signatures of the leaders of Kazakhstan on a similar agreement-to-try-t o- agree.

From Time Magazine Archive

Phenol-2,4-disulphonic acid is prepared from o- or p-phenolsulphonic acid, whereas phenol-2,4,6-trisulphonic acid is prepared directly from phenol by heating with concentrated sulphuric acid in presence of phosphorus pentoxide.

From Synthetic Tannins by Georg Grasser

The text of the larger o- fuda is often accompanied by curious pictures or symbolic illustrations.

From In Ghostly Japan by Lafcadio Hearn

And trewelie, if there be any // and in no o- good in them, it is either lerned, borowed, or // ther tong. stolne, from some one of those worthie wittes of Athens.

From The Schoolmaster by Roger Ascham

They all stare at one another, and so go off, crying O, o, o, o- to the Emperor's Pallace.

From The Life and Death of Doctor Faustus Made into a Farce by William Mountfort

I don't think the "-e" should eliminate the existing "-o" and the "-a."

From Salon Sep. 26, 2022

Usually words ending in "-o" are masculine and those ending in "-a" are feminine, but there are many common words that break those gender rules, like "la mano," the word for "hand."

From Salon Sep. 26, 2022

Knocko, Peddlo, Henpecko, and the rest became so popular that the -o suffix soon spread to words up and down the English language.

From Slate Mar. 31, 2020

The -o suffix traces back to old comic strip characters with names like Knocko and Groucho.

From Slate Mar. 31, 2020

I knew perfectly well why, but I didn’t know how -o put it.

From "Boy: Tales of a Childhood" by Roald Dahl

This gene family was recently named KELT7, and we confirm the 8 copies present in P. o. wallikeri, but show that P. o. curtisi has 9 copies, two of which are pseudogenes.

From Nature Jan. 24, 2017

The P. o. wallikeri and the P. o. curtisi chromosomes were aligned against each other, as were the P. malariae and P. malariae-like chromosomes.

From Nature Jan. 24, 2017

Reality is that you are giving up your family time by doing the o. t. when they need you at work. 

From Time May 3, 2013

“If you dey come give am ticket to leave this here country, I will disappear o. I will not even stop home for pick my bag.”

From Washington Post

“Yes o. Are you the person that will marry me? Meanwhile I told Don I am going out with you, so make sure you don’t go anywhere that he might go.”

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Thus masc. -o- stems show palatal modification, e.g. corn, “horn,” plur. cyrn < *kornī; the plural ending of -u- stems, O. Gaulish -oves, gives O.W. -ou, Mid.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 5 "Cat" to "Celt" by Various

Thankfully, Curry did not allow any eerie rumors to deter him from securing the home, which was originally built in 1922, having been designed by acclaimed architect Stiles O. Clements.

From MarketWatch Aug. 31, 2026

“Gerald J. Ford has significant memory problems,” Jeremy Ford wrote, reiterating his allegations Kelli O. Ford was attempting to block him from seeing his father.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 30, 2026

The Senate opened debate this week on the late South Carolina senator’s legacy legislation—the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act—by an overwhelming 86–12 vote.

From Slate Aug. 1, 2026

And if he’s going to be a senator, he says, he needs to lock down a Jackie O. – not a Marilyn.

From Salon Jul. 6, 2026

And a book called Insect Societies by Edmund O. Wilson that linked human behavior to animals from apes to insects.

From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos

Agricultural scientist professor Grant Edwards, who is is the vice-chancellor of Te Whare Wanaka o Aoraki Lincoln University, a specialist institution in New Zealand, is also receiving a fellowship.

From BBC Sep. 14, 2026

Mr. Brownlee’s tenor proved rock-solid in Arturo’s demanding music, from his exquisitely relaxed, almost languid opening aria, “A te, o cara,” to some punishing high Fs.

From The Wall Street Journal Jan. 2, 2026

Shares o Carvana were down 7.9% in after-hours trading following the release.

From Barron's Oct. 29, 2025

The Red Dog Saloon, Más o Menos and the ad hoc gay bar Tiny Pony Tavern have found their footing for more ambitious desert nightlife.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 21, 2025

It’s her own medal of Saint Christopher—protector o travelers, guardian against storms, holy death, and toothaches.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

While some winning coaches were making their names with toughness that bordered on abuse, he urged Close to see her teams as human beings first, not X’s and O’s.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 6, 2026

Both senior managers were subsequently disciplined by Google for witnessing Mr O's conduct and failing to intervene, before later being made redundant.

From BBC Mar. 10, 2026

Other experts, including the paediatric pathologist, said that Dr Aiton's observation of hyper-inflated lungs would not explain Baby O's liver injuries.

From BBC Aug. 11, 2025

The X’s and O’s won’t matter if Ayton doesn’t show up to play every night, however.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 3, 2025

There were many X’s and O’s at the end of it.

From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac

"The Dutch experience in my opinion offers a warning for Canada," Os cautioned.

From BBC May 15, 2026

Os reveals that she and Morrison worked on a third song that they’re still putting the finishing touches on.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 20, 2026

When Os first launched as a singer in 2018, some immediately took aim at her dance moves and the digitally augmented sound of her voice.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 20, 2026

As a show of gratitude to the girls and the gays, Os transforms from “Belladona” to Primadonna in vogue-ready house bangers like “Slay,” “Problemática,” and “Boom In Your Face.”

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 20, 2026

“Brother, that water felt good,” she said, drawing out the word “good” so it sounded like it had about fifteen Os in it.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

They eventually named their institute for an online trend that had slime enthusiasts replacing the vowels in their name with double o’s, so Kira would become “Kooroo” and slime becomes “Sloomoo.”

From Washington Post Jun. 30, 2022

Like other Romance languages, Spanish divides most endings of nouns into masculine o’s or feminine a’s.

From Washington Times Dec. 12, 2021

Speaking in the same New Orleans twang as her students—those bouncy o’s and long, lingering a’s—Foster was teaching her fifth-graders about chemical reactions.

From Slate Jun. 5, 2016

Mathematics said that any concept could be conveyed in such a binary code as long as the sequence of i’s and o’s was long enough. 

From Forbes Sep. 2, 2014

It was almost perfect, just a fraction flatter and shakier than Betty Jean’s voice had been, the o’s and ah’s parodies of Betty Jean’s pretentious ones.

From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson

Dreyfus pleased his friends no better than his :oes: he irked them by not becoming a "Dreyfusard."

From Time Magazine Archive

Yr un peth a ellir ei ddywedyd am Daliesin Ben Beirdd, nid oes neb heddyw, hyd i gwn i, a fedr gyfieithu yn iawn un o’i Awdlau na’i Orchanau. 

From Some Specimens of the Poetry of the Ancient Welsh Bards by Evan Evans

And from the shadow one by one Pick up the playful oes of sun?

From The Poetical Works of Robert Bridges by Robert Bridges

Illi robur et oes triplex, of which I believe no weapons of any assailant could get the better.

From Stories By English Authors: Italy (Selected by Scribners) by Laurence Oliphant

The poet "mouthing out his hollow oes and aes" is, we are told, a good description of Tennyson's tone and manner of reading.

From The Early Poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson by John Churton Collins

A new Longevity Preparedness Index from John Hancock and MIT AgeLab os based on a survey of over 1,300 adults and focused on eight areas such as finance, home, health and community.

From MarketWatch Dec. 12, 2025

She first broke through with 2016’s “Remonta,” an album she recorded with her former band Liniker e os Caramelows.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 8, 2025

Ambos os programas são “fundamentais para entender a expansão agrícola no Brasil e as emissões de carbono do desmatamento na Amazônia,” diz Douglas Morton, especialista em sensoriamento remoto do Goddard Space Flight Center da NASA.

From Science Magazine May 26, 2022

Hours later, Kelly posts bail and os released from jail in Chicago.

From Seattle Times Aug. 18, 2021

You could talk to him about os and argos, suet and grease, croteys, fewmets and fiants, but he only looked polite.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

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