Main definitions of OK in English

: OK¹ OK²

OK¹

(also okay)

exclamation

informal

1Used to express agreement or acceptance.
‘OK, I'll pass on your message’
‘OK, OK, I give in’
- ‘The city hits you with permit fees - okay, fine.’
- ‘Hope to see you all - okay, not all, as there isn't a bar big enough to fit everyone, but lots of you - on the 9th.’
- ‘I hope my labours (and, okay, those of the musicians) are enjoyed by the ne'er-do-wells.’
- ‘Some of it is a little stilted - okay, some of it is really stilted - but it's capably filmed and has some good music going for it.’
- ‘It bombed, and the only funny thing about him - okay, apart from some of the gags in Bob Martin - is that his name backwards is Slim Bob.’
- ‘The Barber of Seville is saved by a couple of decent arias - okay, one great aria - but I couldn't go that far with this one.’
- ‘I enjoyed management - okay, you had your ups and downs, but it was a good life.’
- ‘It could be the most - okay, only - glorious moment in English cricket for two decades.’
- ‘I think that we're still shy of saying it and, okay, bad experiences can still be had here and there.’
- ‘If it pleases the public and gets them to come racing, and they enjoy it - okay, do it.’
- ‘A note from the author: okay okay… I know this chapter is really short but I wanted to get to the next one before I go on my vacation!’
- ‘Well okay, the deception probably wouldn't have taken long to uncover, but it would probably be good long enough to go rob a bank.’
- ‘Okay okay so it's not Mary Poppins, but it was never meant to be.’
- ‘Okay okay, jokes apart, this is one movie I am really looking forward to.’
- ‘Well okay, nobody could've seen the last one coming.’
- ‘Okay okay, I have heard of this lecture many times.’
- ‘Okay okay, I just have to say, I loved writing this.’
- ‘Well okay, the battery used to slip around a bit, but that was fixed by shoving a piece of folded paper into the back of it.’
- ‘Okay sorry, I didn't realize it hadn't been updated in so long.’
- ‘Well, okay it was a stupid thing to do but I drank a bit of it.’
all right, right, right then, right you are, very well, yes, very good, fine, agreed
View synonyms
1. 1.1Used to introduce an utterance.
  ‘‘OK, let's go’’
  ‘I thought: okay, this is the one I'll call on first.’
  ‘Stefan came into the office, ‘Okay, and now I need everyone's opinions so I can do some work.’’
  ‘Okay I think that your phone is broken.’
  ‘You will sit with him until he can learn to cope with that, until he can recognise, okay I'm back in command of myself and now I can get on with it.’
  ‘One might say: okay, this neighbourhood is four square miles, it extends as far as the lake in the southwest.’
  ‘The sort of hallucination that really makes one think: okay, focus on the good.’
2. 1.2Used at the end of a statement to invite agreement, approval, or confirmation.
  ‘humour me, OK?’
  ‘So, just accept this pointless, but important Internet ranking, OK?’
  ‘Be nice to him OK, Simon?’
  ‘Now to give you an idea, the average now is under one, okay?’
  ‘And that is the logic of processing, okay?’
  ‘It's a girl flick, okay?’
  ‘I know that now, OK?’
  ‘"What I'm saying right now, you're not getting in, okay?"’
  ‘Ridley is just good at this stuff, okay?’
  ‘I have an interview I have to do, OK?’
  ‘They're a public trust, OK?’

adjective

informal

1Satisfactory but not especially good.
‘the flight was OK’
- ‘In fairness, Casey probably did an okay job of the song, but I'd fallen asleep ten seconds into it.’
- ‘He was doing an okay job, until he missed one swing.’
- ‘Even though the job scenario has been okay, you just know something was bound to go wrong somewhere.’
- ‘We've done an okay job so far, but there are a lot of things we want to do better.’
- ‘I don't own any board games, but I'm quite looking forward to owning this one, particularly because I see it as my ticket to a semi okay Christmas.’
- ‘My sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream was okay.’
- ‘Their acting is okay but okay acting combined with so-so story make for some forgettable viewing moments.’
- ‘I don't like to iron or sweep; scrubbing is fine and vacuuming is okay.’
- ‘The plot was okay, and reasonably well staged and acted.’
- ‘I have a very very long - or maybe a number of long-ish - posts in draft, and a few reasonably okay photos to edit.’
- ‘What I usually don't write about is what I find okay, mediocre, adequate, generic.’
- ‘The air con has been frosty, the food okay, the coffee a revelation, and the people pretty friendly.’
- ‘There's some okay political humour, with stabs at global warming, CNN and hydro prices.’
- ‘Cukor once made great woman's pictures, here he makes an okay one.’
- ‘The overall picture quality is okay, but varies considerably from segment to segment depending upon the source material and year that the game footage was gathered from.’
- ‘The transfer is okay considering what this film is.’
- ‘His defense was okay, but consider the competition.’
- ‘The extra chapter is okay, but perhaps doesn't add substantially to the game's longevity.’
- ‘The films are okay, with most of the facts presented by people in tight Hawaiian shirts, laughing a lot.’
- ‘One day you can release a product which you think is okay and then it can just take off.’
satisfactory, all right, fine, in order, acceptable, up to scratch, up to the mark, up to standard, up to par, competent
View synonyms
1. 1.1In a satisfactory physical or mental state.
  ‘are you okay, Ben?’
  ‘But only to reassure you that she is physically okay.’
  ‘She seemed to be okay physically as far as I could tell, but she frowned when she saw me - something was up, obviously.’
  ‘For me, it's a physical need to see to it that you're okay.’
  ‘To my complete and utter amazement, I felt okay, not just physically but emotionally as well.’
  ‘‘I'm glad you're okay,’ she said in a respectful way that made Erica unsure if she actually meant it.’
  ‘We will have to get new carpets, curtains and tanks - but as long as the reptiles are okay I don't mind.’
  ‘We made sure they were okay and then sent them home for the afternoon.’
  ‘Briggs suffered minor concussion in that game but could be okay this week.’
  ‘I hope I am okay this evening so I can go to Millhampton.’
  ‘I didn't really know if I really would be okay or not.’
  ‘‘Adrienne,’ I called, though I didn't exactly care too much whether she was okay or not.’
  ‘Sometimes he's okay and sometimes he can't breathe.’
  ‘Nothing really, I just wanted to see if you girls are okay or not after what you have just witnessed.’
  ‘I'd make sure my family and friends were okay and maybe start an orphanage in India.’
  ‘Other callers are just calling in to say they are okay this year or thanking the volunteers there for their support in the past.’
  ‘I take very seriously making sure everyone is okay and where they are supposed to be, keeping my ‘chickens’ all in order.’
  ‘Daniel jumped out just long enough to make sure I was okay and then got right back into the fight.’
  ‘Once he was satisfied that she was okay he allowed her to go upstairs to bed.’
  ‘I was old enough to take care of myself, the life insurance made sure that I was fine to look after the house and I had a decent job and I was okay.’
  ‘We used to think if we could help somebody get a job they would be okay.’
  fine, all right, well, in good shape, in good health, fit, healthy, as fit as a fiddle, as fit as a flea, in fine fettle, up to snuff
  View synonyms
2. 1.2Permissible; allowable.
  ‘it's not OK to say that to a teacher’
  ‘I have a strong preference to avoid checking any luggage, so carry-on appropriate items are okay; things that have to be checked, not so good.’
  ‘‘I said any date would be okay when his schedule permits,’ Koizumi told reporters after the meeting with Primakov.’
  ‘Most even find that it's okay to go further than that, with permission from everyone concerned of course.’
  ‘Would that, like the potential discovery of WMD, make the war okay?’
  ‘Its okay because your house is so big and your parents are never home so that its almost like you live outside of home anyway.’
  ‘Its okay we just need something until it leaves here.’
  ‘I mean, no one was around to tell me if it was okay or not.’
  ‘Inherently I know that I haven't done anything wrong (nor has she), and that it's okay for me to respect my cousin's right to privacy.’
  ‘I commend Ms. Cleage for being honest about her desires and realizing that it's okay to consider her own needs.’
  ‘Those of a postmodern persuasion might argue that it's okay to present a fragmented field in a fragmented way.’
  ‘For example, some substances are okay out-of-competition but illegal during competition.’
  ‘We would be saying it's okay to treat human beings like commodities, and it's okay to elevate economics above respect for human dignity.’
  ‘If the talent test ended with presentation of a gift, it was okay.’
  ‘For him the problem in Bulgaria is the widespread mentality that says it's okay to steal as long as you're not caught.’
  ‘It's okay to accuse your opponents of dishonesty when they routinely present quotations out of context.’
  ‘Obviously the militants feel that hurting kids is okay because of the job their daddy or mummy does.’
  ‘She proposes outlawing unreasonable force by removing the provision in the law saying reasonable force is okay.’
  ‘The point in syntax, more or less, is that some word orders are okay, and some aren't.’
  ‘Attracting birds with tape recordings is okay by me in moderation.’
  ‘It is okay to retire from your job… but don't retire from your life.’
  permissible, allowable, acceptable, all right, in order, permitted, fine, fitting, suitable, appropriate
  View synonyms

adverb

informal

In a satisfactory manner or to a satisfactory extent.
‘the computer continues to work OK’
- ‘We've done okay this season and have tried to cover up our weaknesses as much as we can.’
- ‘By and large it seems to be going okay and according to the returning officer we are on course and all the papers are due to go out this week.’
- ‘Just because we did okay last year doesn't mean we cannot fail this time round.’
- ‘Anyway I want to get to know Ivee, she's okay cute.’
- ‘The fan told Leon that he could do a story on him and possibly help get his name out in the sports world to let people know that he is doing okay and still working hard.’
- ‘It looked okay I guess but I'm not a great fan of fishnets.’
- ‘A person who seems to be doing okay one day may the next day suddenly take a turn for the worse.’
- ‘‘I am hitting the ball okay on the practice range,’ he claimed at Royal Lytham last July.’
- ‘They seemed to take the news okay, but Shaune noticed that their relationship changed and that they began watching his every move.’
- ‘I went out there for a look and liked the place okay.’
- ‘She reads the news okay, but her interaction with guests is very wooden and her interviewing technique is weak.’
- ‘She was a little bad at directions and I still wondered sometimes if she could get back to the cottage okay on her own.’
- ‘I moved in a few feet, the catcher moved out a few feet and I made the throw okay.’
- ‘A train arrived at Lawler station around noon, and my duty entitled me to make sure that everyone got off the train okay.’
- ‘Immediate media reaction was Cheney strong; Edwards presented okay, but showed his inexperience.’
- ‘Am working on lit review, its a funny job, but going okay.’
- ‘I'm glad the repair job went okay but I wonder if all this detailed photography of the shuttle is a too detailed.’
- ‘All this on a job that pays me okay, but really doesn't give me enough to live lavishly.’
- ‘‘The caretaker role I've now got is a bit different but I'm there to do a job and we've started off okay,’ he said.’
all right, fine, well, well enough, satisfactorily, passably, tolerably, acceptably
View synonyms

noun

informal in singular

An authorization or approval.
‘the officer gave me the OK’
- ‘A misconception is that if they give the okay for organ and tissue retrieval, they won't be able to have an open casket or a funeral at all.’
- ‘They don't need an okay from the Ministry to proceed with any project.’
- ‘The family made an application for a grant and, on April 16, 2002, they were given the okay for the work.’
- ‘A judge has given the okay for police to detain the bombing suspect for another three days.’
- ‘The single's success forced Berry Gordy to give the okay for an album to be produced.’
- ‘If you're over 35, a new exerciser, just coming back from a layoff or you have a history of heart disease in your family, you should get an okay from your doctor before starting.’
- ‘‘Hey, Matt, I got an okay on using the boat for the 4th,’ I called through the door.’
- ‘I'll tell my parents once you get the okay from your mom so they can send in your reservation.’
- ‘Somebody in a powerful position actually issued the okay on this lovely ad and handed over an exorbitant amount of money to let it grace the cover of a phone book with a major circulation.’
- ‘I expect we will be able to say more sometime in the next 6 months, and when I get the okay from Activision, I'll certainly let you know!’
- ‘The Charlotte Bobcats got the official okay from the Boston Celtics to interview Chris Wallace for their GM job.’
- ‘The French voters are incensed, yes, but it seems to me that they're largely incensed because we didn't get a French okay.’
- ‘My grandpa has given the okay for your visit here whenever you can.’
- ‘After getting the okay from everybody, she pressed the green button; and the portal opened up in the wall.’
- ‘Those policies are anathema to the slot scammer, so most will not go the route of getting the okay for taking credit cards.’
- ‘There are projects now where Bahamian politicians have given a verbal okay, so the investors have started.’
- ‘Kali commanded after getting the okay from everyone that they were strapped in.’
- ‘I waited for a moment before finally getting the okay from Miss Pross to start singing.’
- ‘There was another meeting with about 12 people there, and they gave it the okay.’
- ‘Who could blame the studio head that gave the okay?’
authorization, approval, seal of approval, agreement, consent, assent, permission, endorsement, ratification, sanction, approbation, acquiescence, confirmation, blessing, leave, imprimatur
View synonyms

verbOKs, OKing, OK'd, OKed

[with object]informal

Give approval to.
‘despite objections, the committee ok'd the construction’
- ‘If the Senate approves the exact legislation okayed by the House - down to every single word and comma - the legislation would then be sent to the President.’
- ‘Technically this bill required no Presidential approval, and it was okayed by the Governor.’
- ‘The plan, which recently resurfaced after being dropped, still has to be okayed by county traffic chiefs.’
- ‘Congress okayed the fuel oil, but refused to approve the two commercial nuclear plants.’
- ‘Meanwhile, both members of last year's Democratic ticket publicly said that they'd been wrong in okaying the war.’
- ‘Those who had the information stalled over okaying its release.’
- ‘Anything she did was okayed by the establishment.’
- ‘If we had sent in the prices that were actually up on the board in the bank, they'd have been okayed, and customers would have paid those as they did.’
- ‘The State Cabinet had okayed the recommendation,’ he replied.’
- ‘She said: ‘I had okayed it with Mr Hollins before I took the days off and he just said take as long as I needed, but then I got this text message.’’
- ‘Brooklawn officials have okayed the leasing of their public school properties to corporations that want to put up ads, thus letting them buy access to a captive audience of impressionable youngsters.’
- ‘Write, call, or ask in person why Congress okayed this pollution of the people's parks.’
- ‘For radio the ad must include a statement in which candidates identify themselves and say they okayed the message.’
- ‘Weinberger okayed the facility anyway, in part to boost defense spending in New York.’
- ‘Equal-pay legislation is being scrapped and a thermal power plant was okayed and then put on hold.’
- ‘Media reports in Assam suggest that the Bodo leadership has okayed the proposals.’
- ‘He says the job was done well and that the board okayed the deal.’
- ‘Flickenschild has also okayed the idea of paying child allowances to all families irrespective of their incomes.’
- ‘Thanks so much to Justin for looking over the two chapters from Chris' point of view and okaying them.’
- ‘Gramm okayed it with me Sunday, that if anything happened to him you'd come to me.’
authorize, approve, agree to, consent to, sanction, pass, ratify, endorse, allow, give something one's consent, say yes to, accede to, give something one's approval, give something the nod, rubber-stamp
View synonyms

Origin

Mid 19th century (originally US): probably an abbreviation of orl korrect, humorous form of all correct, popularized as a slogan during President Van Buren's re-election campaign of 1840 in the US; his nickname Old Kinderhook (derived from his birthplace) provided the initials.