# xoxo

> English word · Noun · IPA [ɛksəʊɛksəʊ] · frequency rank #46,275

## Definitions
1. Abbreviation of hugs and kisses, usually placed at the end of a letter.

## Etymology
From use of X/x to mean “kiss” and O/o to mean “hug”. Use of “X” to indicate a kiss attested since 1763, preceded by medieval use of an “X”, which was then kissed by illiterates to indicate a signature. Use of “O” is more recent, and presumably created by analogy (e.g., X/O in tic-tac-toe). Speculative theories on precise origins abound, including folk etymologies (for example, the notion that the X represents the crossed arms of a hug and that the O represents the pursed lips of a kiss).

## Easily confused with
- **XXX** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/xoxo-vs-xxx)
- **XXXX** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/xoxo-vs-xxxx)
- **XO** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/xo-vs-xoxo)
- **Xbox** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/xbox-vs-xoxo)
- **xiao** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/xiao-vs-xoxo)

## Common misspellings (5)
`oxxo`, `xoox`, `xoxxo`, `xxoo`, `xxoxo`

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