oh

Interjection

1. Expression of surprise.
   • Oh! I didn't see you there.
2. Expression of wonder, amazement, or awe.
   • Oh, wow! That's amazing.
3. Expression of understanding, affirmation, recognition, or realization.
   • Oh, so that's how it works.
4. A word to precede an annoyed remark.
   • Oh, leave me alone.
5. A word to precede an added or offhand comment or afterthought.
   • Oh, and don't forget your coat.
   • What if he says, "Oh, I need to see your ID"?
6. An invocation or address (similar to the vocative in languages with noun declension), often with a term of endearment.
   • Oh, gosh.
   • Oh baby, baby, how was I supposed to know / That something wasn't right here?1998, Max Martin, ...Baby One More Time (song performed by Britney Spears)
7. (often, poetic) Exclamation for drama or emphasis.
   • Oh, when will it end?
   • Oh by what plots, by what forſwearings, betrayings, oppreſsions, impriſonments, tortures, poyſonings, and vnder what reaſons of State, and politique ſubteltie, haue theſe forenamed Kings, […] pulled the vengeance of GOD vpon them-ſelues, […]1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], “The Preface”, in The Historie of the World […], London: […] William Stansby for Walter Burre, […], →OCLC
8. Expression of pain. See ouch.
   • Oh! That hurt.
   • "Oh! Oh!——I can't bear it————It is too much.——I die.—————I am going——" were Polly's expreſſions of extaſy: […]1749, [John Cleland], “[Letter the First]”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], volume I, London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC, page 83
9. Space filler or extra syllable, especially in (popular) music.
   • I'm off with the raggle-taggle gypsy-oh.1968, MacKinlay Kantor, Beauty Beast
10. (interrogative) Expression of mild scepticism.
    • "You should watch where you're going!" "Oh?"

Noun (1)

oh (plural ohs)

1. An utterance of oh; a spoken expression of surprise, acknowledgement, etc.
   • There were ohs and ahs, and the people twisted about as they looked for her. Then they began to applaud.2011, Seabert Parsons, The Lost Codex of Palenque, page 240

Verb

oh (third-person singular simple present ohs, present participle ohing, simple past and past participle ohed)

1. (intransitive) To utter the interjection oh; to express surprise, etc.
   • A quarter of an hour elapsed, and then, after several rings at the door-bell, a smothered laugh, and a good deal of ohing and ahing, the door was thrown open, and one by one, as they were announced, in came the expected characters.1852, Merry's museum and Parley's magazine, volumes 23-24, page 46

Noun (2)

oh (plural ohs)

1. The name of the Latin script letter O/o.
   • One genuine recycled local glass of aitch-two-oh2006, Ben Bova, Titan, page 33
   • Exes and Ohs: A Downtown Girl's (Mostly Awkward) Tales of Love, Lust, Revenge, and a Little Facebook Stalking2011, Shallon Lester, (Please provide the book title or journal name)

Noun (3)

oh (plural ohs)

1. The digit 0 (especially in representations of speech)
   • Jenny I've got your number. I need to make you mine. Jenny don't change your number. Eight six seven five three oh nine. Eight six seven five three oh nine. Eight six seven five three oh nine. Eight six seven five three oh nine. Tommy Tutone, "867-5309/Jenny"2010, Sal Mangano, “Chapter 1: Numerics”, in Mathematica Cookbook, O'Reilly Media, →ISBN, page 1
   • "Oh-dark-thirty," the first soldier muttered without looking at his watch.2015, John Renehan, The Valley: A Novel, Penguin Publishing Group, →ISBN

Proper noun (1) capitalized: OH

OH

1. (abbreviation) Abbreviation of Ohio: a state of the United States.

Noun (4) capitalized: OH

OH (plural OHs)

1. (Internet, abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of other half: a husband, wife, partner, etc.
2. (US, abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of observation helicopter.
3. (Internet, abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of overheard; a post whose contents were overheard by its author.
   • OH: "We should just burn the whole place down"

Noun (5) capitalized: OH

OH pl (plural only)

1. (abbreviation, initialism, plural, plural-only) Initialism of office hours.

Symbol capitalized: OH

OH

1. A hydroxyl, or alcohol, functional group.
2. A hydroxide radical, or hydroxyl group.

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Oh

IPA/oʊ/

Oh

1. A surname from Korean derived from a common Korean surname.
   • “Your son’s name. What is it?”
     “Oh. Benjamin Oh.”
     “Benjamin O … what?”
     “No, Oh, Officer. That’s it. The last name is Oh.”2021, Ruth Ozeki, The Book of Form and Emptiness, Canongate Books (2022), page 294

Proper noun (3) capitalized: Oh

IPA/oʊ/

Oh

1. A surname from Chinese.