# obey

> English word · Verb · IPA /əʊˈbeɪ/ · frequency rank #9,219

## Definitions
1. To do as ordered by (a person, institution etc), to act according to the bidding of.
2. To do as one is told.
3. To be obedient, compliant (to a given law, restriction etc.).

## Etymology
From Middle English obeyen, from Anglo-Norman obeir, obeier et al., Old French obeir, from Latin oboediō (also obēdiō (“to listen to, harken, usually in extended sense, obey, be subject to, serve”)), from ob- (“before, near”) + audiō (“to hear”). Compare audient. In Latin, ob + audire would have been expected to become Classical Latin *obūdiō (compare in + claudō becoming inclūdō), but it has been theorized that the usual law court associations of the word for obeying encouraged a false archaism from ū to oe, to oboediō (compare Old Latin oinos → Classical Latin ūnus).

## Easily confused with
- **oy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obey-vs-oy)
- **OE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obey-vs-oe)
- **one** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obey-vs-one)
- **owe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obey-vs-owe)
- **ore** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obey-vs-ore)
- **ole** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obey-vs-ole)
- **obi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obey-vs-obi)
- **ode** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obey-vs-ode)
- **OEM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obey-vs-oem)
- **obs** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obey-vs-obs)
- **only** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obey-vs-only)
- **over** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obey-vs-over)
- **open** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obey-vs-open)
- **ones** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obey-vs-ones)
- **okay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obey-vs-okay)
- **oven** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obey-vs-oven)
- **Owen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obey-vs-owen)
- **owed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obey-vs-owed)
- **oily** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obey-vs-oily)
- **orgy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obey-vs-orgy)

## Common misspellings (5)
`boey`, `obbey`, `obeyy`, `obye`, `oeby`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/obey