oh

1 of 3

interjection

(ˈ)ō 

variants or less commonly O

1

—used to express an emotion (such as surprise or desire) or in response to physical stimuli

Oh, no! I forgot my key.

Oh, don't stop!

2

—used in direct address

oh, waiter! Will you come here, please?

3

—used to express acknowledgment or understanding of a statement

Oh, yes. It's one of my favorite cities.

4

—used to introduce an example or approximation

Their house is about, oh, I'd say four miles from here.

oh

2 of 3

noun

ˈō 

: zero

OH

3 of 3

abbreviation

Ohio

Synonyms

Noun

• aught
• cipher
• goose egg
• naught
• nought
• nil
• nothing
• o
• zero
• zilch
• zip

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Interjection

There’s rich whole milk (life’s too short for skim), a solitary egg and two — that’s right, two — sticks of oh-so-sweet cream butter. —Allison Robicelli, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2023

Mary hollered over her shoulder, in a melodious, oh-so-Tennessee accent, warm with years. —Colin Warren-hicks The Virginian-pilot (tns), al, 5 Feb. 2023

Amy-Leigh Hickman joins the season 4 cast of You as Nadia, a college student who shares similar interests with Joe (uh oh). —Skyler Caruso, Peoplemag, 3 Feb. 2023

If only there was a way to do both…oh wait, there is! —Danielle Sinay, Glamour, 1 Feb. 2023

Shah wasn’t there, but Angie Katsanevas showed up, and had some testy exchanges with Meredith Marks, who oh so casually mentioned that Angie K. has been trying to get on the show for the past three. —oregonlive, 1 Feb. 2023

So who could be shocked by Animal Kingdom signs for, oh, say, Simba and Nemo? —Dewayne Bevil, Orlando Sentinel, 1 Feb. 2023

Emily Ratajkowski, the Princess’s hair looked expensive, glossy, and oh-so-healthy. —Hannah Coates, Vogue, 31 Jan. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Interjection

Middle English o

Noun

o; from the similarity of the symbol for zero (0) to the letter O

First Known Use

Interjection

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1936, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing oh

• hit the big four-oh
• hit the big five-oh
• oh yeah
• uh-oh

• hit the big four-oh
• hit the big five-oh
• oh yeah
• uh-oh

Kids Definition

oh

1 of 2 interjection

variants or O

(ˈ)ō

1

—used to express an emotion (as astonishment or desire) or in response to a physical sensation (as pain)

2

—used in direct address

Oh sir, you forgot your change

3

—used to express understanding of a statement

oh, that's what you mean

4

—used to introduce an example or a guess

there are probably, oh, six or seven different ways to do that

oh

2 of 2 noun

ˈō 

: zero entry 1 sense 1