O.B.E.

American  

abbreviation

1. Officer (of the Order) of the British Empire.

2. Order of the British Empire.

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OBE British  

abbreviation

1. Officer of the Order of the British Empire (a Brit title)

2. out-of-body experience

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Example Sentences

John Oliver, the late-night television host, said in an interview on the NBC show “Late Night with Seth Meyers” that he had rejected the O.B.E. because it was “loaded.”

From New York Times • Jan. 27, 2023

In the bathroom at the back of the studio, there’s a stash of awards, including an O.B.E. from the Queen.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 28, 2016

But Robson has earned the O.B.E. for his work away from the top level of the game.

From New York Times • Jan. 2, 2013

To his post Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King promptly appointed McCarthy's assistant, Lester Bowles Pearson, O.B.E., one of the ablest men in Canada's small but expert foreign service.

From Time Magazine Archive

One of our juniors, Major Bays Waller, O.B.E., who came to us from a Control Office and who advises us on our filing, says that it is like coming from a home to a home.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, 1920-02-25 by Various