ole

1 of 4

adjective

informal
: old
reminiscing about the good ole days
had a grand ole time
saw a big ole snake
… "That ole devil still living?"Mildred D. Taylor
… an ole workin man …George Bernard Shaw
… new uses for the good ole potato.Sheila O'Meara Lowenstein
… he didn't lose because of little ole me.Matt Gurney
… the ole switcheroo, a technique whereby a jeweller will replace his infinitesimally smaller rock for your larger one.Elle
… what Robb has done for Democrats is win something. And not just any ole something: Virginia.George F. Will

olé

2 of 4

noun

ole-

3 of 4

combining form

variants or oleo-
: oil
oleograph

-ole

4 of 4

noun combining form

variants or less commonly -ol
1
: chemical compound containing a 5-membered usually heterocyclic ring
pyrrole
2
: chemical compound not containing hydroxyl
eucalyptol
especially in names of ethers
safrole

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Yearwood's Breakfast Lasagna serves up a big ole heapin' helping of sausage, Cheddar, Swiss cheese, spinach, eggs, and tender pasta. Anna Mahan, countryliving.com, 28 Apr. 2023 What happened to the good ole days of getting your hands dirty with real hardware and programming? IEEE Spectrum, 5 Dec. 2019 Kyrie Irving is back with the Mavs at shootaround in Memphis — and having a good ole time laughing with everyone. Callie Caplan, Dallas News, 11 Mar. 2023 Twice-fried, these Belgian fries come with your choice of sauce—mustards and mayonnaise, vinegar, curry, peanut satay, cheese, parmesan peppercorn, or good ole ketchup. Wendy Altschuler, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2023 Chalk one up for the good ‘ole boys. Jim Gronaw, Baltimore Sun, 26 Feb. 2023 Nothing beats good ‘ole Vaseline. Daley Quinn, Peoplemag, 25 Jan. 2023 Sure, there's nothing like a good ole fashion facial. Sophie Dweck, Town & Country, 17 Feb. 2023 However, many guys are reluctant to make the switch to safety razors because that technique is quite different than shaving with a good-ole cartridge disposable razor. Men's Health, 16 Feb. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ole.' 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

Adjective

by alteration

Noun

Spanish

Combining form

French olé-, oléo-, from Latin ole-, from oleum — more at oil

Noun combining form

International Scientific Vocabulary, from Latin oleum

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1832, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1922, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ole was circa 1832

Dictionary Entries Near ole

Cite this Entry

“Ole.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ole. Accessed 29 May. 2023.

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