"O" Slang

ooo

Internet

Stands for "out of office," indicating you're away from work and may respond slowly. Common in workplace chat and auto-replies.

ooowee

Street

Pure approval. You drop it when something hits — a beat, an outfit, a plate, a paycheque. Sound it out: oooh-weee.

oorah

General

All-purpose Marine spirited shout. Means yes, understood, copy that, let's go, I agree, I'm fired up — pick one. Marines bark it at each other in passing the way civilians say hi. Strictly USMC: don't catch a soldier or sailor using it unless they want a look.

oose

General

Fluff or lint, such as pocket fluff or dust bunnies.

oot

General

Out; direction or the state of being out (e.g. socialising).

oot yer face

General

Hammered. So drunk you're no longer operating from inside your own head. The Scottish cousin of 'off your face' — same idea, harder vowel.

ootd

Internet

The outfit itself when referred to by the tag — 'today's OOTD.'

ooter

Street

A genuinely loyal companion — the friend who's there before you ask and stays after everyone else leaves. NYC drill rappers use it for the inner circle, not the entourage.

ootl

Internet

The basis of Reddit's r/OutOfTheLoop community where people ask for explanations of trends and drama.

op

Internet

Valorant's answer to the AWP. Costs a fortune, scopes in, and bodies anyone in one shot. Slow to handle, but an OPer holding a long angle can lock down a whole site by themselves.

op shop

General

An opportunity shop selling second-hand goods for charity; 'op shopping' is thrifting.

ope

General

The involuntary syllable that flies out of a Midwesterner's mouth the second they almost bump into you, reach across you for the ranch, or squeeze past you in the cereal aisle. Half apology, half throat-clear. Functions as a verbal turn-signal — you don't decide to say it, it just happens.

open edition

Internet

A mint where an unlimited number can be minted within a set window (or other variable), so supply is determined by demand and time rather than a fixed cap.

open outcry

General

The old-school way exchanges matched orders: traders in coloured jackets stood in a pit and screamed bids and offers at each other, backed up by hand signals so the noise didn't matter. Mostly extinct now — screens ate the floor — but the CME held on to a few pits well into the 2010s.

open the kimono

General

To share internal or confidential information openly with another party. Now widely avoided as dated and culturally insensitive.

opord

General

'Operations Order' — a directive issued to subordinate units to carry out an operation, traditionally in a standardized five-paragraph format (Situation, Mission, Execution, Sustainment, Command and Signal).

opp

Internet

An enemy or rival — originally a rival gang member in drill lyrics, now diluted to mean basically anyone you're up against. Common in rap, gaming, sports trash talk and friend-group banter.

opp block

Street

Used loosely in rap and online for any rival's home territory you wouldn't want to be seen on.

oppa

Pop

A Korean term a girl or woman uses to address an older male — literally 'older brother,' but also for older male friends, partners, or idols.

oppalogist

Internet

A (usually female) fan who makes excuses for her male bias no matter what he does; a blend of 'oppa' and 'apologist'.

oppo

General

Your opposite number — the bloke who covers your role on the other watch, shift, or crew. By natural extension your closest working mate, the one you trust to hand over to.

opposite

General

Describes performing a spin, grind, or trick in the direction opposite to the rider's normal, comfortable one. Doing tricks opposite is a mark of well-rounded skill.

opps

Street

Broadened in mainstream use to mean anyone you're against, even casually — a sports rival, a hater, or someone you just don't mess with.

opsec

General

'Operations Security' — the practice of identifying and protecting critical information so adversaries cannot piece together friendly intentions, capabilities, or activities.

opt-in role

Internet

Any role members can pick up on their own — usually via reaction roles, a slash command, or a server's onboarding menu. Contrast with staff-granted roles like Mod or Verified. Used for ping groups, interest tags, and access to optional channels.

optics

General

The public or internal perception of a decision or event, independent of its substance.

optimize

General

To adjust something to achieve the best possible performance or result.

option

Gaming

A little helper unit that orbits or follows your ship. Doubles your shots, and in some games physically blocks incoming fire.

option select (os)

Gaming

A single sequence of inputs that the game resolves into the best outcome depending on the opponent's action. You don't have to react — the engine sorts it for you. Borderline cheating, totally legal.

opulence, you own everything

General

The signature call of ballroom emcee Junior LaBeija, immortalised in the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning: 'O-P-U-L-E-N-C-E! Opulence. You own everything!' He spat it out while judging a queen, and it became one of the film's most quoted lines. It's a hype chant and a fantasy — the idea that on the ballroom floor you embody the wealth and ownership the world denied you offstage. Decades later it still echoes through drag and queer pop culture.

or no?

General

A phrase placed at the end of a question or invitation to let the listener opt out gracefully.

órale

Street

The Swiss-army knife of Chicano interjections. Means right on, alright, hey, c'mon, let's go, hell yeah — whatever the moment needs. Tone does the work.

órale pues

General

A closing agreement, like 'alright then' or 'okay, sounds good'.

orange hanky

General

In the gay leather hanky code, orange is the wildcard. It doesn't lock you into one kink — it broadcasts that you're open, adventurous, and down to negotiate just about anything. Worn back left pocket = you take the lead; back right = you receive. The code itself started in the 1970s so men could cruise each other in bars without saying a word out loud, back when saying it out loud was dangerous.

orangered

Internet

Reddit's inbox notification — the little envelope that lights up orange-red when someone replies to you or sends a message. Getting 'an orangered' means someone, somewhere, has answered your comment and your dopamine is incoming.

orbiting

Internet

Sometimes flipped to describe what you do on purpose to keep an option warm without committing to a conversation.

organ donor

General

Trucker CB slang for a helmetless biker. The logic is brutal and tidy: no lid, no skull, fresh organs for the transplant list. Used with a mix of pity and dark humour on the radio.

organ recital

General

Slang for the lengthy, wandering litany of complaints spanning multiple body systems, typical of an anxious or hypochondriacal patient.

organic

Internet

Describes real, unpaid, non-wash-traded activity or growth; ironically, loudly claiming sales are 'organic' can itself hint they aren't.

orite

General

A relaxed greeting or acknowledgement. Also irie in the wider Caribbean.

ornery

General

Describes someone or something disagreeable, mean-spirited, or grouchy—often with a playful edge. Strongly associated with Appalachia and the rural South.

orra breet

General

Doric for an uncouth, coarse, or foul-mouthed person. 'Orra' means odd/worthless/low, 'breet' is brute. A proper insult — somebody with no manners, no shame, and a mouth like a sewer.

oscar mike

General

Radio brevity for 'On the Move,' spelling out the letters O and M in the NATO phonetic alphabet to signal that a unit is under way.

oscar-mike-whiskey

General

Phonetic-alphabet rendering of 'OMW' — 'on my way' — used casually to confirm one is en route.

oshi

Internet

The specific idol, character or performer a fan most passionately supports and promotes — not just a favourite but the one you actively champion. Central to idol and VTuber culture.

oshikatsu

Internet

The whole range of fan activities devoted to supporting one's oshi — buying merch, attending events, streaming content and generally cheering them on, sometimes as a lifestyle and spending priority.

ossified

General

Extremely drunk; the joke is that the liquor has turned you to bone, leaving you rigid and immovable.

ossu

Internet

A punchy, informal Japanese greeting or affirmation associated with martial-arts and delinquent characters, used by fans for a tough-guy 'hey'.