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 O.K.¹

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 O.K.¹

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

Example Sentences

"The other candidates are saying that this is not OK," explains Ingles.

From BBC

“It was this whole last winter of, like, ‘OK, I love this record so much, and I might not be able to sing it,’” says McLachlan, 57.

From Los Angeles Times

“We need to change our style of play, as far as how hard and how fast and how physical we play, OK?”

From Los Angeles Times

“I was trying to get his pulse for going forward, where he’s at, continuing to go to the sixth inning. And he says, ‘Feel OK.’

From Los Angeles Times

"You just take it and then tough it out for the the next 20 minutes until it kicks in and then you're OK to train," revealed Jarrell-Searcy.

From BBC

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.