"YOLO" meaning in English

See YOLO in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Phrase

IPA: /ˈjəʊ.ləʊ/ [UK], /ˈjoʊ.loʊ/ [US] Audio: En-au-YOLO.ogg [Australia]
Rhymes: -əʊləʊ Etymology: The phrase (not the acronym) "you only live once" dates to the 19th century according to research by Katherine Martin, head of U.S. Dictionaries at Oxford University Press. It saw a steady increase of usage from 1940 to 2000. Ben Zimmer, lexicographer, found the earliest usage of the acronym from 1993, in a trademark filed for YOLO gear with "you only live once" in small lettering. The acronym was popularized around 2011 by Canadian rapper Drake. YOLO was entered into the Oxford English Dictionary as a word in 2016. Head templates: {{head|en|phrase}} YOLO
  1. (slang) Initialism of you only live once, i.e. expressing the view that one should make the most of the present moment. Wikipedia link: Drake (musician) Tags: abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, slang Alternative form of: you only live once (extra: i.e. expressing the view that one should make the most of the present moment.) Synonyms: you only go around once, yolo, Y.O.L.O. Related terms: carpe diem Translations (you only live once): kerran sitä vain eletään (Finnish), on ne vit qu’une fois (French), on n’a qu’une vie (French), só se vive unha vez (Galician), Egyszer élünk! (Hungarian), 一度きり (ichido kiri) (Japanese), Raz się żyje! (Polish), Raz kozie śmierć! (Polish), solo vives una vez (Spanish), solo se vive una vez (Spanish), man lever bara en gång (Swedish)
    Sense id: en-YOLO-en-phrase-SNIy1q0V Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English quotations with omitted translation

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for YOLO meaning in English (4.2kB)

{
  "etymology_text": "The phrase (not the acronym) \"you only live once\" dates to the 19th century according to research by Katherine Martin, head of U.S. Dictionaries at Oxford University Press. It saw a steady increase of usage from 1940 to 2000. Ben Zimmer, lexicographer, found the earliest usage of the acronym from 1993, in a trademark filed for YOLO gear with \"you only live once\" in small lettering. The acronym was popularized around 2011 by Canadian rapper Drake.\nYOLO was entered into the Oxford English Dictionary as a word in 2016.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "phrase"
      },
      "expansion": "YOLO",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "extra": "i.e. expressing the view that one should make the most of the present moment.",
          "word": "you only live once"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English quotations with omitted translation",
          "parents": [
            "Quotations with omitted translation",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Making this cake mix eleven years past the expiration date, because YOLO!",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2014, Sam Jones, yolo, Simon and Schuster, page 132",
          "text": "“Well, it's too late to turn back now, Brandon,” Ana said. “And anyway… YOLO, right?” Brandon looked like he was about to explode, but finally he rubbed his eyes and nodded. “Yeah. YOLO.”",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021 March 24, Charlie Warzel, quoting James Young, “What Are You Paying for When You Buy a GIF for $25,000?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN",
          "text": "“It made me come to this conclusion of, I don’t know, YOLO, let me just try this,” he said.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021 April 21, Kevin Roose, “Welcome to the YOLO Economy”, in The New York Times, →ISSN",
          "text": "Individual YOLO decisions can be chalked up to many factors: cabin fever, low interest rates, the emergence of new get-rich-quick schemes like NFTs and meme stocks.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Initialism of you only live once, i.e. expressing the view that one should make the most of the present moment."
      ],
      "id": "en-YOLO-en-phrase-SNIy1q0V",
      "links": [
        [
          "you only live once",
          "you only live once"
        ],
        [
          "present",
          "present"
        ],
        [
          "moment",
          "moment"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang) Initialism of you only live once, i.e. expressing the view that one should make the most of the present moment."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "carpe diem"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "you only go around once"
        },
        {
          "word": "yolo"
        },
        {
          "word": "Y.O.L.O."
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "abbreviation",
        "alt-of",
        "initialism",
        "slang"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "you only live once",
          "word": "kerran sitä vain eletään"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "you only live once",
          "word": "on ne vit qu’une fois"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "you only live once",
          "word": "on n’a qu’une vie"
        },
        {
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "sense": "you only live once",
          "word": "só se vive unha vez"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "you only live once",
          "word": "Egyszer élünk!"
        },
        {
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "ichido kiri",
          "sense": "you only live once",
          "word": "一度きり"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "you only live once",
          "word": "Raz się żyje!"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "you only live once",
          "word": "Raz kozie śmierć!"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "you only live once",
          "word": "solo vives una vez"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "you only live once",
          "word": "solo se vive una vez"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "you only live once",
          "word": "man lever bara en gång"
        }
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Drake (musician)"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈjəʊ.ləʊ/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈjoʊ.loʊ/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-əʊləʊ"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-YOLO.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/38/En-au-YOLO.ogg/En-au-YOLO.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/En-au-YOLO.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "YOLO"
}
{
  "etymology_text": "The phrase (not the acronym) \"you only live once\" dates to the 19th century according to research by Katherine Martin, head of U.S. Dictionaries at Oxford University Press. It saw a steady increase of usage from 1940 to 2000. Ben Zimmer, lexicographer, found the earliest usage of the acronym from 1993, in a trademark filed for YOLO gear with \"you only live once\" in small lettering. The acronym was popularized around 2011 by Canadian rapper Drake.\nYOLO was entered into the Oxford English Dictionary as a word in 2016.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "phrase"
      },
      "expansion": "YOLO",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "phrase",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "carpe diem"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "extra": "i.e. expressing the view that one should make the most of the present moment.",
          "word": "you only live once"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English 2-syllable words",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English initialisms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English phrases",
        "English quotations with omitted translation",
        "English slang",
        "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "Rhymes:English/əʊləʊ",
        "Rhymes:English/əʊləʊ/2 syllables"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Making this cake mix eleven years past the expiration date, because YOLO!",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2014, Sam Jones, yolo, Simon and Schuster, page 132",
          "text": "“Well, it's too late to turn back now, Brandon,” Ana said. “And anyway… YOLO, right?” Brandon looked like he was about to explode, but finally he rubbed his eyes and nodded. “Yeah. YOLO.”",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021 March 24, Charlie Warzel, quoting James Young, “What Are You Paying for When You Buy a GIF for $25,000?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN",
          "text": "“It made me come to this conclusion of, I don’t know, YOLO, let me just try this,” he said.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021 April 21, Kevin Roose, “Welcome to the YOLO Economy”, in The New York Times, →ISSN",
          "text": "Individual YOLO decisions can be chalked up to many factors: cabin fever, low interest rates, the emergence of new get-rich-quick schemes like NFTs and meme stocks.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Initialism of you only live once, i.e. expressing the view that one should make the most of the present moment."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "you only live once",
          "you only live once"
        ],
        [
          "present",
          "present"
        ],
        [
          "moment",
          "moment"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang) Initialism of you only live once, i.e. expressing the view that one should make the most of the present moment."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "abbreviation",
        "alt-of",
        "initialism",
        "slang"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Drake (musician)"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈjəʊ.ləʊ/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈjoʊ.loʊ/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-əʊləʊ"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-YOLO.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/38/En-au-YOLO.ogg/En-au-YOLO.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/En-au-YOLO.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "you only go around once"
    },
    {
      "word": "yolo"
    },
    {
      "word": "Y.O.L.O."
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "you only live once",
      "word": "kerran sitä vain eletään"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "you only live once",
      "word": "on ne vit qu’une fois"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "you only live once",
      "word": "on n’a qu’une vie"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "sense": "you only live once",
      "word": "só se vive unha vez"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "you only live once",
      "word": "Egyszer élünk!"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "ichido kiri",
      "sense": "you only live once",
      "word": "一度きり"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "you only live once",
      "word": "Raz się żyje!"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "you only live once",
      "word": "Raz kozie śmierć!"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "you only live once",
      "word": "solo vives una vez"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "you only live once",
      "word": "solo se vive una vez"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "you only live once",
      "word": "man lever bara en gång"
    }
  ],
  "word": "YOLO"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-22 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (fc4f0c7 and c937495). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.