Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

okay

/ˌəʊˈkeɪ/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.06 in modern English

Syllables: o-kay
IPA: /ˌəʊˈkeɪ/

11

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

2

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Alternative spelling of OK.

verb

Alternative spelling of OK.

adj

Alternative spelling of OK.

adv

Alternative spelling of OK.

intj

Alternative spelling of OK.

Example Sentences

"They [the English] turned her [Joan of Arc] over to the mercies of the Church to make sure the murder was a blessed one. All soldiers are superstitious, I suppose. Nobody wanted to kill an obvious saint unless the Church okayed it."
"One of us must marry well. Meg didn't, Jo won't, Beth can't yet, so I shall, and make everything okay all round."

Etymology

A respelling of OK.

Inflected Forms

okays (plural) OK (alternative) O.K. (alternative) okeh (alternative) okey (alternative) okays (present, singular) okaying (participle, present) okayed (participle, past) okayed (past) more okay (comparative) okayer (comparative) most okay (superlative)

Derived Forms

k 'kay kay m'kay okayish okayly okayness otay

Phrases

A-OK a-okay okey-dokey okie-dokie pay or okay

Synonyms

all right fine o.k. ok hunky-dory cool alright okey okeh

Rhymes With

they way may day say one-way away play today pay stay re

Questions

How do you pronounce okay?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌəʊˈkeɪ/.
What does okay mean?: Alternative spelling of OK.
Where does okay come from?: A respelling of OK.

How to pronounce okay

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “okay”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌəʊˈkeɪ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “okay”.
Repeat and practice — Say “okay” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.