YOLO

[ yoh-loh ]

interjection

1. You only live once! (used especially to rationalize impulsive or reckless behavior):

   I bought those expensive shoes I've been eying—YOLO!

verb (used without object)

1. to engage in impulsive or reckless behavior with this sort of rationalization:

   We’ve been YOLOing all night.

Word History and Origins

Origin of YOLO¹

First recorded in 1995–2000; but popularized by the Canadian rapper Drake in his song “The Motto”

Example Sentences

Alongside YOLO, “same damn time” is one of the most memorable recent additions to the lexicon.

From The Daily Beast

BuzzFeed's Benny Johnson compiles 31 examples of the former President living a YOLO lifestyle.

From The Daily Beast

The Lonely Island (featuring Adam Levine and Kendrick Lamar): “YOLO”

From The Daily Beast

Pleasant news from Colonel Delafield, who, with a loss of 600, has destroyed thrice that number of the enemy before Yolo.

From Project Gutenberg

The son of a well-known linen-draper in Yolo, he was educated at the military college of Savannah.

From Project Gutenberg

This last he judged unwise, so that he was obliged to cling to Yolo itself.

From Project Gutenberg