okay

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

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR okay ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, adverb, interjection, noun, verb (used with object)

OK.

Nearby words

OK

or O.K., o·kay

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

adjective

all right; proceeding normally; satisfactory or under control: Things are OK at the moment.

correct, permissible, or acceptable; meeting standards: Is this suit OK to wear to a formal party?

doing well or in good health; managing adequately: She's been OK since the operation.

adequate but unexceptional or unremarkable; tolerable: The job they did was OK, nothing more.

estimable, dependable, or trustworthy; likable: an OK person.

adverb

all right; well enough; successfully; fine: She'll manage OK on her own. He sings OK, but he can't tap dance.

(used as an affirmative response) yes; surely.

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

interjection

(used to express agreement, understanding, acceptance, or the like): OK, I'll get it for you.

(used as an introductory or transitional expletive): OK, now where were we?

noun, plural OK's.

an approval, agreement, or endorsement: They gave their OK to her leave of absence.

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

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?

Origin of OK

initials of a facetious folk phonetic spelling, e.g., 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

Usage note

Few Americanisms have been more successful than ok, which survived the political campaign of 1840 that fostered it, quickly lost its political significance, and went on to develop use as a verb, adverb, noun, and interjection. The expression was well known in England by the 1880s. Today ok has achieved worldwide recognition and use. It occurs in all but the most formal speech and writing.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for okay

He said it was okay, that he had been busy too… busy fighting serious intestinal problems.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
King Lear becomes Lear texting “okay who wants a kingdom,” to which Goneril replies “me me I do.”
What Would Jane Eyre Sext?|Jennie Yabroff|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
My husband rubs my back and makes soothing noises and tells me everything is going to be okay.
You’re Never ‘Cured’ of an Eating Disorder|Carrie Arnold|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Det. 1: Okay, now tell us how it went, David—tell us how you did it.
How the U.S. Justice System Screws Prisoners with Disabilities|Elizabeth Picciuto|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Allowing some people to discriminate sends the message that discrimination is okay.
Do LGBTs Owe Christians an Olive Branch? Try The Other Way Around|Jay Michaelson|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I don't remember exactly what he said, and he liked it okay, and that is just about it.
Warren Commission (7 of 26): Hearings Vol. VII (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
To go see Sasebo we have to walk along the flight deck, and weave in and out among all those planes, okay.
Dave Dawson on Guadalcanal|Robert Sydney Bowen
Okay, so I'm childish, only I just don't like to have someone gobble up my share of the dessert.
The Scapegoat|Richard Maples
Okay, but I want you both—Fao especially—to realize exactly what that means.
The Galaxy Primes|Edward Elmer Smith
Okay; now, how much time elapsed between the time that you finished—well, strike that.
Warren Commission (12 of 26): Hearings Vol. XII (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy

British Dictionary definitions for okay

okay

sentence substitute, adjective, verb, noun

a variant of O.K.

OK

abbreviation for

Oklahoma

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

Word Origin and History for okay

okay

see OK.

OK

1839, only survivor of a slang fad in Boston and New York c.1838-9 for abbreviations of common phrases with deliberate, jocular misspellings (e.g. K.G. for "no go," as if spelled "know go;" N.C. for "'nuff ced;" K.Y. for "know yuse"). In the case of O.K., the abbreviation is of "oll korrect."

Probably further popularized by use as an election slogan by the O.K. Club, New York boosters of Democratic president Martin Van Buren's 1840 re-election bid, in allusion to his nickname Old Kinderhook, from his birth in the N.Y. village of Kinderhook. Van Buren lost, the word stuck, in part because it filled a need for a quick way to write an approval on a document, bill, etc. Spelled out as okeh, 1919, by Woodrow Wilson, on assumption that it represented Choctaw okeh "it is so" (a theory which lacks historical documentation); this was ousted quickly by okay after the appearance of that form in 1929. Greek immigrants to America who returned home early 20c. having picked up U.S. speech mannerisms were known in Greece as okay-boys, among other things.

The noun is first attested 1841; the verb 1888. Okey-doke is student slang first attested 1932.

okay

adjective, adverb, interjection, noun, verb (used with object)

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

OK

or O.K., o·kay

adjective

adverb

interjection

noun, plural OK's.

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

Origin of OK

Usage note

Examples from the Web for okay

okay

sentence substitute, adjective, verb, noun

OK

abbreviation for

okay

OK