OK

• (stressed)
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌəʊˈkeɪ/
  • (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌoʊˈkeɪ/

    • Audio (US)

      (file)

• (unstressed)
  • IPA^(key): /əˈkeɪ/
• Rhymes: -eɪ

Origin disputed. Wikipedia lists many possible etymologies, of which the most widely accepted is that it is an abbreviation of oll/orl korrect, a comical spelling of all correct, which first appeared in print in The Boston Morning Post on March 23, 1839, as part of a fad for similar fanciful abbreviations in the United States during the late 1830s. The expression became popular through its use in the presidential campaign of Martin Van Buren in 1840, who was nicknamed Old Kinderhook, and then slowly acquired other meanings.

The Choctaw word oke, okeh (“it is so”), common in Choctaw translations of the Bible, could also explain OK's variety of affirmative definitions. Additionally, okeh was the most common etymology of okay in dictionaries until the 1960s, and linguistically predates Boston's O.K.. However, this theory suffers from the fact that the Choctaw language was relatively obscure and generally spoken (sometimes in a pidgin form) mainly with African-American slaves.

• O.K., o.k., ok, okay, O. K., o. k., okeh, okey, okie

OK (plural OKs or OK's)

1. Endorsement; approval; acceptance; acquiescence.

   We can start as soon as we get the OK.

• (endorsement or approval): approval, endorsement, green light, go-ahead, nod, thumbs up

• NG

OK (third-person singular simple present OKs or OK's, present participle OKing or OK'ing, simple past and past participle OKed or OK'd)

1. (transitive) To approve; to accept; to acquiesce to.

   I don't want to OK this amount of money.

2. (transitive, computing) To confirm by activating a button marked OK.
   • 2001, Mike Collins, Pro Tools: Practical Recording, Editing and Mixing for Music Production:

     Type a suitable name for your Marker and OK the dialogue box.

   • 2008, Martin Evening, Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Photographers:

     When you OK the crop, the image size will be adjusted to match the front image resolution.

• approve
• greenlight

OK (comparative more OK, superlative most OK)

1. All right, acceptable, permitted.

   Do you think it's OK to stay here for the night?

2. Satisfactory, reasonably good; not exceptional.

   The soup was OK, but the dessert was excellent.

   • 1869, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, Little Women: […], part second, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC:

     One of us must marry well. Meg didn't, Jo won't, Beth can't yet, so I shall, and make everything okay all round.

3. Satisfied (with); willing to accept a state of affairs.
   • 2012, Roni Jay, The 10 Most Important Things You Can Do For Your Children:

     If you leave the kids in the creche for one morning on your week's holiday, and they are OK with that, then it's fine.

4. In good health or a good emotional state.

   He's not feeling well now, but he should be OK after some rest.

   • 2022 October 25, L. J. Shrum, Elena Fumagalli, Tina M. Lowrey, “Coping with loneliness through consumption”, in Journal of Consumer Psychology, volume 33, number 2, →DOI, page 452:

     In France, the French postal service La Poste provides a subscription service in which postal workers visit elderly subscribers to make sure they are okay, do not need anything, and provide brief social interaction.

• (all right, permissible): allowed, all right, permissible
• (satisfactory): adequate, all right, not bad, satisfactory
• (in good health or a good emotional state): fine, well

• (all right, permissible): forbidden
• (satisfactory): NG, bad, inadequate, poor, unsatisfactory
• (in good health or a good emotional state): ill, poorly, sick, under the weather, unwell

OK (comparative more OK, superlative most OK)

1. Satisfactorily, sufficiently well.

   The team did OK in the playoffs.

• (satisfactorily): adequately, satisfactorily

• (satisfactorily): NG, badly, inadequately, poorly, unsatisfactorily

OK

1. Used to indicate acknowledgement or acceptance.

   Synonyms: okey-dokey, okeh, okey, k, 'kay, m'kay, A-OK, all right

   I promise to give it back. – OK.

   Let's meet again this afternoon. – OK.

   Shut up! – OK, OK.

   OK! I get it! Stop nagging me!

   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     Come by this afternoon. — Okay.

     Audio (US)

     (file)

2. (computing) Used to dismiss a dialog box or confirm a prompt.
3. Used to introduce a sentence in order to draw attention to the importance of what is being said.

   Synonyms: now, now then

   OK, I'm thinking of a number…

4. Used in turn-taking, serving as a request to the speaker to grant the turn to the interrupter.

   You always do this to me! When we were at your mother’s, you said that… – OK, OK, …

5. Used to sarcastically or sardonically indicate agreement with the previous statement.

• A-okay
• OK please

• oll korrect
• 👌
• Wikipedia article on "okay"
• Wikipedia article on the "OK" hand gesture
• Wikipedia article on "A-OK" and the hand gesture

• How 'OK' took over the world, Allan Metcalf, BBC News Magazine (2011 February 18)
• The ‘O’ Word, Roy Blount, Jr., The New York Times Sunday Book Review (2010 November 19)
• OK: The Improbable Story of America's Greatest Word, Allan Metcalf, Oxford University Press (2010)
• Jim Fay (16 September 2009), “The Choctaw Expression "Okeh" and the Americanism "Okay"”, in Illinoisprairie.info‎, archived from the original on 2010-12-24.
• Allen Read, the Expert of 'O.K.,' Dies at 96, Douglas Martin, The New York Times Obituaries (2002 October 18)
• What does "OK" stand for?, Cecil Adams, The Straight Dope (1985)
• “OK”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

OK

1. United States postal abbreviation for Oklahoma, a state of the United States of America.

• (Oklahoma): OK., Ok., Ok

• (Oklahoma): Oklahoma, Okla, Okla.

Possibly a shortening of Chinese 卡拉OK. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

OK (plural not attested)

1. (Hong Kong) Karaoke.

• Patrick J. Cummings, Hans-Georg Wolf (2011) A Dictionary of Hong Kong English: Words from the Fragrant Harbor, Hong Kong University Press, →ISBN, page 126

• KO, Ko, ko

• (Mandarin, one of the ways to transliterate into Chinese characters) 歐克／欧克 (ōukè)
• ok, Ok

Borrowed from English OK.

OK

1. (colloquial, sometimes nonstandard) OK

   你OK嗎？／你OK吗？  ―  Nǐ ōukèi ma?  ―  Are you OK?

   你O唔OK呀？ [Cantonese]  ―  nei⁵ ou¹ m⁴ ou¹ kei¹ aa³? [Jyutping]  ―  Are you OK?

   • 「70%咖啡OK嗎？」 [MSC, trad.]
     “70%咖啡OK吗？” [MSC, simp.]

     From: 夏渥客, 11樓 - Page 90

     “70% kāfēi OK ma?” [Pinyin]

     "Is 70% coffee alright?"

OK

1. (colloquial, sometimes nonstandard) OK

   上頭說OK就OK了。／上头说OK就OK了。  ―  Shàngtou shuō ōukèi jiù ōukèi le.  ―  If higher authorities say "OK", it means "OK".

• 好 (hǎo), 好的 (hǎo de), 好吧 (hǎo ba)
• 行 (xíng)

OK

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) moderately; fairly

   呢科都OK易㗎。 [Cantonese]  ―  ni¹ fo¹ dou¹ ou¹ kei¹ ji⁶ gaa³. [Jyutping]  ―  This course is fairly easy.

OK

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) to OK; to approve; to accept

• 卡拉OK (kǎlā'ōukèi)
• OK繃／OK绷 (ōukēibèng)

• IPA^(key): /oːˈkaː/

• Audio

  (file)

OK f (plural OK's)

1. Abbreviation of operatiekamer.

• → Indonesian: OK

< English OK

• IPA^(key): /ˈokei̯/, [ˈo̞k̟e̞i̯]
• IPA^(key): /ˈoːkoː/, [ˈo̞ːko̞ː]

OK

1. Alternative form of okei

OK

1. Alternative form of okei
2. (computing) OK (in buttons, etc.)

   Synonym: (uncommon) selvä

• “OK”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (online dictionary, continuously updated, in Finnish), Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-03

• o’ kay, okay, O. K.

Borrowed from English OK.

• IPA^(key): /ɔk/, /ɔ.ke/

• Audio

  (file)

• Audio (CAN)

  (file)

OK

1. OK (endorsement; approval)

   Synonyms: d’accord, entendu

From Dutch operatiekamer of operatie (“surgery”) +‎ kamer (“room”).

OK (first-person possessive OKku, second-person possessive OKmu, third-person possessive OKnya)

1. (healthcare, colloquial) operating theatre, operating room.

   Synonym: kamar bedah

Borrowed from English OK.

• (Tokyo) オ​ーケー [óꜜòkèè] (Atamadaka – [1])[1][2][3]
• (Tokyo) オー​ケー [òóꜜkèè] (Nakadaka – [2])[3]
• (Tokyo) オーケ​ー [òókéꜜè] (Nakadaka – [3])[3]
• IPA^(key): [o̞ːke̞ː]

• (Tokyo) オ​ッケー [óꜜkkèè] (Atamadaka – [1])[1]
• IPA^(key): [o̞k̚ke̞ː]

OK(オーケー) or OK(オッケー) • (ōkē or okkē) 

1. agreement; approval; okay
   • 2009 January 10, Tsugumi Ohba with Obata, Takeshi, “３ページ ペンとネーム [Page 3: Pens and Names]”, in BAKUMAN(バクマン)。, volume 1 (fiction), Tokyo: Shueisha, →ISBN, page 104:

     マンガの下(した)描(が)きみたいなもん　まずこれを描(か)いて編(へん)集(しゅう)者(しゃ)に見(み)せてＯ(オー)Ｋ(ケー)が出(で)たら初(はじ)めて原(げん)稿(こう)にできるＯ(オー)Ｋ(ケー)が出(で)るまでは何(なん)度(ど)でも描(か)き直(なお)し　もっともネームで見(み)せていいのはマンガ家(か)としての才(さい)能(のう)を認(みと)められた奴(やつ)な

     Manga no shitagaki mitai na mon Mazu kore o kaite henshūsha ni misete ōkē ga detara hajimete genkō ni dekiru ōkē ga deru made wa nando demo kakinaoshi Motto mo nēmu de misete ii no wa mangaka toshite no sainō o mitomerareta yatsu na

     It’s basically a rough sketch for manga. First you make one and show it to the editor, and only if it’s okayed can you go ahead with the draft. You may have to do it over a couple of times till it gets the okay. Though good mangaka can just pass with the name alone.

2. no problem

   電(でん)子(し)レンジＯ(オー)Ｋ(ケー)のお皿(さら)

   denshi renji ōkē no o-sara

   microwave-safe plates

• N(エヌ)G(ジー) (enujī)

OK(オーケー) or OK(オッケー) • (ōkē or okkē) -na (adnominal OK(オーケー)な (ōkē na), adverbial OK(オーケー)に (ōkē ni))

1. OK; all right; fine

OK(オーケー) or OK(オッケー) • (ōkē or okkē) 

1. OK
   • 2009 August 25, Kozue Amano, “[第](だい)[２](に)[話](わ) [夢](ゆめ)ヶ[丘](おか)[高](こう)[校](こう)”, in [あまんちゅ](ＡＭＡＮＣＨＵ)！, volume 1 (fiction), Tokyo: Mag Garden, →ISBN, pages 33–38:

     その１(いち)「準(じゅん)備(び)」っ　Ｏ(オッ)Ｋ(ケー)‼その２(に)「位(い)置(ち)」っ　お家(うち)の玄(げん)関(かん)　Ｏ(オッ)Ｋ(ケー)‼その３(さん)「時(じ)間(かん)」っ　７(しち)時(じ)３０(さんじゅっ)分(ぷん)　Ｏ(オッ)Ｋ(ケー)‼その４(よん)「空(くう)気(かん)」っ…………ピッ　Ｏ(オッ)Ｋ(ケー)‼その５(ご)「行(こう)動(どう)」っ　レッツらゴ——！Ｏ(オッ)Ｋ(ケー)‼

     Sono ichi “Junbi”h okkē!! Sono ni “Ichi”h o-uchi no genkan okkē!! Sono san “Jikan”h shichiji sanjuppun okkē!! Sono yon “Kūkan”h... pih okkē!! Sono go “Kōdō”h rettsu ra gō—! Okkē!!

     Number 1 “Preparation”, check!! Number 2 “Location”: Entryway, check!! Number 3 “Time”: 7:30, check!! Number 4 “Air”... Hwee, check!! Number 5 “Action”: Let’s la gooo! Check!!

From English OK.

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [o̞kʰe̞i]
• Phonetic hangul: [오케이]

OK • (okei) (hangeul 오케이)

1. (colloquial) good

• NG

OK • (okei) (hangeul 오케이)

1. (colloquial) OK

• ok, Ok

Unadapted borrowing from English OK.

OK

1. OK (indicates acknowledgement or acceptance)

   Synonyms: tudo bem, certo, tá

OK m (plural OKs)

1. OK (an indication of acknowledgement or acceptance)

OK

1. OK, okay

   Synonym: okej

OK

1. OK, okay

   Synonym: okej

OK

1. OK, okay

   Synonym: okej

• OK in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• OK in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• OK in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

• ko

From English OK.

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔo˧˧ ke˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔow˧˧ kej˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ʔow˧˧ kej˧˧]
• Phonetic: ô kê

OK

1. (informal) OK, okay (acknowledgement or acceptance)
2. (computing) OK, okay (dismissal of a dialog box or confirmation of a prompt)

• (acknowledgement or acceptance): ờ, ừ, ừm
• (dismissal of a dialog box or confirmation of a prompt): được

• (dismissal of a dialog box or confirmation of a prompt): hủy bỏ, hủy, thôi

• ko