Oklahoma

[oh-kluh-hoh-muh]

noun

1. a state in the south central United States. 69,919 square miles (181,090 square kilometers). Oklahoma City. OK (for use with zip code), Okla.

Oklahoma

/ ˌəʊkləˈhəʊmə /

noun

1. Abbreviation: Okla..  OK. a state in the S central US: consists of plains in the west, rising to mountains in the southwest and east; important for oil. Capital: Oklahoma City. Pop: 3 511 532 (2003 est). Area: 181 185 sq km (69 956 sq miles)

Oklahoma!

¹

1. A musical comedy by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It began a new era of sophistication in musical comedy and was the first of several very successful Rodgers and Hammerstein shows. “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning,” “Oklahoma,” and “People Will Say We're in Love” are songs from Oklahoma!

Oklahoma

²

1. State in the southwestern United States, bordered by Colorado and Kansas to the north, Missouri and Arkansas to the east, Texas to the south, and New Mexico to the west. Its capital and largest city is Oklahoma City.

Other Word Forms

• Oklahoman adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Oklahoma¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; from Choctaw Oklahommaʔ “Indian (i.e., North American Indian)”, equivalent to oklah “people, nation” + ommaʔ “red,” coined by the Choctaw scholar and Presbyterian minister Allen Wright (1826–85), later principal chief of the Choctaw Nation (1866–70), and originally applied to the Indian Territory; Five Civilized Nations ( def. ), Indian Territory ( def. )

Example Sentences

In Oklahoma, education officials are requiring teachers from California and New York to take an exam aimed at guarding against ‘radical leftist ideology.’

From Los Angeles Times

He was headed to Oklahoma, tending to some exhibitions, and she was pregnant, unsure of where to go.

From Los Angeles Times

The Oklahoma native, who said he “was on a horse before I could walk,” appeared on the seventh season of Peacock’s “Love Island,” which aired earlier this summer.

From Los Angeles Times

“I’ve seen consults where they’ve been transferred to Oklahoma, where it is very hard to find an attorney that might do, for example, federal court litigation.”

From Los Angeles Times

In ensuing weeks, the Justice Department sought to repeat its Texas victory by filing suits challenging immigrant-tuition benefits in Kentucky, Minnesota and Oklahoma.

From Salon