KO

or K.O., k.o., kay·o

[noun key-oh, key-oh; verb key-oh]Slang.

noun, plural KO's.

a knockout in boxing.

verb (used with object), KO'd, KO'ing.

to knock unconscious, especially in a boxing match; knock out.

Origin of KO

First recorded in 1920–25; initial letters of knock out

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for ko

impact, bump, concussion, shock, punch, slap, jolt, stroke, jab, kick, uppercut, whipping, drubbing, rout, annihilation, debacle, conquest, beating, trouncing, blow

Examples from the Web for ko

Contemporary Examples of ko

“There should be a statue of John Carlos in every city,” KO opined.
Keith Olbermann Makes Hilarious Return to ESPN, But for How Long?
Lloyd Grove
August 27, 2013
Ko Young-hui died of breast cancer in exile in Paris in 2004.
North Korea IDs Mystery Woman as Kim Jong-Un’s Wife—But Who Is She, Really?
Nate Thayer
July 26, 2012
Ko is portrayed speaking in the film over still images of her nurturing Kim Jong-un.
North Korea IDs Mystery Woman as Kim Jong-Un’s Wife—But Who Is She, Really?
Nate Thayer
July 26, 2012

Historical Examples of ko

Ko is one of the Burmese equivalents of Mr., more respectful than Maung.
A Civil Servant in Burma
Herbert Thirkel White
Pipe (tobacco), hióchko (och guttural; ko almost like ke, e ½).
Travels in the Interior of North America, 1832-1834, Part III (the Text Being Chapters XXVIII-XXXIII of the London Edition, 1843, and the Appendix a Combination of the Appendices of the London and German [Coblentz, 1839] Editions)
Maximilian, Prinz von Wied
Moskoe (mos'ko), Probably Poe had in mind the Mos'kenaso island.
Elson Grammar School Literature, Book Four.
William H. Elson
Ko had three mules, in addition to the one he rode, and two bearers.
The Caves of Fear
John Blaine
The grenade rolled from Ko's hand, and as it did, the safety handle flew off!
The Caves of Fear
John Blaine

British Dictionary definitions for ko

KO

k.o.

verb KO's, KO'ing, KO'd, k.o.'s, k.o.'ing or k.o.'d

a slang term for knock outSee knockout

noun plural KO's or k.o.'s

a slang term for knockout

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