OK

¹

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 for

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

OK

¹

abbreviation for

1. Oklahoma

O.K.

²

/ ˌəʊˈkeɪ /

sentence substitute

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

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

“I tried to reassure her that things would be OK in the end.”

From Los Angeles Times

According to Ani, a representative looked at the application and said, "OK, great. Come meet them and bring a carrier."

From Salon

The stroke, which he referred to as a “little health hiccup,” came “all of a sudden, out of the blue,” but he was OK.

From Los Angeles Times

“I just talked to one of our local hospital providers ... and they seem to be doing OK,” he said.”It’s a mess.

From Los Angeles Times

“I just talked to one of our local hospital providers ... and they seem to be doing OK,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• fine
• okay

Is OK A Word?

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.