YOLO

American  

[yoh-loh] / ˈyoʊ loʊ /

interjection

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

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

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verb (used without object)

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

   We’ve been YOLOing all night.

Etymology

Origin of YOLO

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

Example Sentences

On top of that, who among us, after the past year and a half, has been immune from a predominant sense of YOLO?

From Seattle Times • Jun. 27, 2021

"YOLO" is an acronym that stands for the saying "you only live once."

From Fox News • Jun. 26, 2021

All the kids are saying YOLO, You Only Live Once, well, you only Pope once,” Ryan Krill, president of the Cape May Brewery, told Fox 17.

From The Guardian • Sep. 18, 2015

But while it’s often taken to be something like a 1930s version of YOLO, that kind of carpe diem economics has nothing to do with what Keynes was actually writing about.

From Slate • May 6, 2013

S.N.L. says YOLO, and a surfer may have ridden a 100-foot wave.

From New York Times • Feb. 3, 2013