obey

verb

obeyed; obeying

transitive verb

1
: to follow the commands or guidance of
He always obeys his parents.
2
: to conform to or comply with
obey an order
Falling objects obey the laws of physics.

intransitive verb

: to behave obediently
The dog does not always obey.
obeyer noun

Examples of obey in a Sentence

His dog has learned to obey several commands. He always obeys his parents. The children must obey the rules. The children must learn to obey.
Recent Examples on the Web The bureau is responsible for regulating the installation of fire safety and suppression systems throughout New York City and ensuring fire safety regulations are obeyed. Pilar Arias, Fox News, 16 Sep. 2024 From the flat perspective, the universe is made up only of particles obeying a quantum theory known as a conformal field theory (that’s the CFT of AdS/CFT). Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 25 Sep. 2024 In doing so, Lynch—who has since revealed that the NFL taxed him upwards of $1.2 million for his refusal to engage with the press—obeyed the letter of the law while going all Father Merrin on the spirit of the thing. Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 20 Sep. 2024 The only discount on the sentence was 54 days/year of Good Conduct Time if prisoners obeyed the institutional rules. Walter Pavlo, Forbes, 14 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for obey 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'obey.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English obeien, borrowed from Anglo-French obeir, going back to Latin oboedīre, from ob- "toward, in the direction of" + -oedīre, probably unstressed form (with -oe- of uncertain origin) of audīre "to hear" — more at ob-, audible entry 1

Note: The -oe- in oboedīre is peculiar both because it is not the expected result of -au- in a non-initial syllable (the regular outcome is -ū-) and because -oe- is in any case rare non-initially. Various attempts have been made to account for the irregularity. Reflecting earlier suggestions, Michiel de Vaan hypothesizes pre-Latin *ób-awizdijō > *obowizdijō > *oboizdijō (rounding of a before w, which is then lost, prior to the weakening of a to u) > oboediō (with z blocking monophthongization of -oi- to -ū- before succumbing to cluster reduction) (see Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the Other Italic Languages, Brill, 2008). As an alternative to assumptions of questionable phonetic change, it has also been suggested that a base other than audīre is at issue (Michael Weiss suggests *ob-bhoi̯diō, from a nominal derivative of the base of fīdere "to trust" [see faith entry 1]; see Outline of the Historical and Comparative Grammar of Latin, 2nd edition, Ann Arbor, 2020, p. 130).

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of obey was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near obey

Cite this Entry

“Obey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obey. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

obey

verb
obeyed; obeying
1
a
: to follow the commands or guidance of
obeyed her parents
b
: to be obedient
trained the dog to obey
2
: to act in agreement with : carry out
obey an order
obey the rules

More from Merriam-Webster on obey

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!