OK

¹

Also O.K.,
Or o·kay

[oh-key, oh-key, oh-key]

adjective

1. all right; proceeding normally; satisfactory or under control.

   Things are OK at the moment.

2. correct, permissible, or acceptable; meeting standards.

   Is this suit OK to wear to a formal party?

3. doing well or in good health; managing adequately.

   She's been OK since the operation.

4. adequate but unexceptional or unremarkable; tolerable.

   The job they did was OK, nothing more.

5. estimable, dependable, or trustworthy; likable.

   an OK person.

adverb

1. all right; well enough; successfully; fine.

   She'll manage OK on her own.

   He sings OK, but he can't tap dance.

2. (used as an affirmative response) yes; surely.

3. (used as an interrogative or interrogative tag) all right?; do you agree?

interjection

1. (used to express agreement, understanding, acceptance, or the like).

   OK, I'll get it for you.

2. (used as an introductory or transitional expression).

   OK, now where were we?

noun

plural

OK's 

1. an approval, agreement, or endorsement.

   They gave their OK to her leave of absence.

verb (used with object)

OK'd, OK'ing 

1. to put one's endorsement on or indicate one's approval of (a request, piece of copy, bank check, etc.); authorize; initial.

   Would you OK my application?

OK

²

abbreviation

1. Oklahoma (approved especially for use with zip code).

O.K.

¹

/ ˌəʊˈkeɪ /

1. an expression of approval, agreement, etc

adjective

1. in good or satisfactory condition

2. permissable

   is it O.K. if I go home now?

3. acceptable but not outstanding

   the party was O.K.

verb

1. (tr) to approve or endorse

noun

1. approval or agreement

OK

²

abbreviation

1. Oklahoma

Word History and Origins

Origin of OK¹

Initials of a facetious folk phonetic spelling, i.e., oll or orl korrect representing all correct, first attested in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1839, then used in 1840 by Democrat partisans of Martin Van Buren during his election campaign, who allegedly named their organization, the O.K. Club, in allusion to the initials of Old Kinderhook, Van Buren's nickname, derived from his birthplace, Kinderhook, New York

Word History and Origins

Origin of OK¹

C19: perhaps from o ( ll ) k ( orrect ), jocular alteration of all correct

Example Sentences

"His record in Australia -- OK, he hasn't made a hundred, but he still averages 35 in Australia which is not bad... It's not like he's failed in Australia," Chappell told Wide World of Sports.

Read more on Barron's

OK, Tartan Army, can you hear Lady Liberty calling you from New York Harbour, can you feel the rush of the Niagara Falls, can you almost taste the tequila in Guadalajara?

Read more on BBC

At first, the company said consumers seemed OK with the price increases, as sales held better than expected.

Read more on MarketWatch

OK, maybe a hint of her youth emerged when she was asked how she felt about playing on college soccer’s biggest stage.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

She called their home, went by to visit and see if the family was OK, but couldn’t get an answer.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• okay 
• permission 
• yes 

When To Use

And is OK in the dictionary?

OK is a word. The term OK may also be spelled okay. There is confusion as to whether OK is a word because it is informal, looks like an acronym, and is spelled with all capital letters. However, none of these elements disqualify OK from being a valid word.