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

Examples of oh in a Sentence

Noun

the number is one-oh-two-four

Recent Examples on the Web

Interjection

Fact checked by Sarah Scott Mom-of-three Mandy Moore is oh so relatable. —Melissa Willets, Parents, 27 Nov. 2024

But oh, whatever happened to the wisdom of the Beatles’ joy? —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 25 Nov. 2024

And people later reported that summit saying, oh, Trump was threatening to leave NATO. —Susan Page, USA TODAY, 1 Nov. 2024

The actress and pro partner Brandon made it to the top of the leader board, tying with NFL star Danny Amendola. Flips, lifts, and punches, oh my! —Calie Schepp, EW.com, 23 Oct. 2024

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 five-oh
• hit the big four-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