O level

[ oh-lev-uhl ]

/ ˈoʊ ˌlɛv əl /

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noun British.

a public examination for secondary-school students, usually 15 to 16 years old, testing basic knowledge in various subjects, required before advancing to more specialized courses of study.

a pass in this examination.

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Compare A level.

Origin of O level

O(rdinary)level

Words nearby O level

oleo strut, olericulture, olestra, olethreutid, oleum, O level, oleyl alcohol, olfaction, olfactometer, olfactometry, olfactory

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use O level in a sentence

If she got caught with a shank, they would up her custody level.
How a ‘Real Housewife’ Survives Prison: ‘I Don’t See [Teresa Giudice] Having a Cakewalk Here’|Michael Howard|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
However, the Air Force is so strapped for people that the ratio has dropped below even that reduced level.
Exclusive: U.S. Drone Fleet at ‘Breaking Point,’ Air Force Says|Dave Majumdar|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“The level of outside support… has not been sufficient enough for them to distance themselves from al Nusra,” Cafarella said.
ISIS Fight Has a Spy Shortage, Intel Chair Says|Kimberly Dozier|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Occasionally, a level will take 20 or more strokes to complete.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art|Alec Kubas-Meyer|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Summonses for low-level offenses like public drinking and urination fell 94 percent—from 4,831 to 300.
Ground Zero of the NYPD Slowdown|Batya Ungar-Sargon|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Sleek finds it far harder work than fortune-making; but he pursues his Will-o'-the-Wisp with untiring energy.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
"Here's my authority, yuh blasted runt," he yelled, and jerked his six-shooter to a level with the policeman's breast.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
O death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that hath peace in his possessions!
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
D'o l'on peut aussy veoir, quelle esperance il y a de planter une belle chrestient par tels evangelistes.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
That they may know thee, as we also have known thee, that there is no God beside thee, O Lord.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various

British Dictionary definitions for O level

O level

noun (formerly, in Britain)

the basic level of the General Certificate of Education, now replaced by GCSE
(as modifier)O level maths

a pass in a particular subject at O levelhe has eight O levels

Systematic name: Ordinary level

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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