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.

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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)

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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!

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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.

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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; Five Civilized Nations ( def. ), Indian Territory ( def. )

Example Sentences

Kentucky and Oklahoma are tapering their rates to zero.

From The Wall Street Journal

They blew out the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

From Los Angeles Times

The late T. Boone Pickens, the chief benefactor for Oklahoma State, built an oil fortune that he dispersed to the Cowboys.

From The Wall Street Journal

I arrived right after college, an Oklahoma transplant whose expectations of L.A. were, naturally, shaped by the movies.

From Los Angeles Times

Prosecutors declined to bring charges against Madden, citing a lack of evidence beyond the confession and Madden already being behind bars for life in Oklahoma.

From Los Angeles Times