yolo
/ˈjoʊloʊ/phrase
yolo is spelled Y-O-L-O: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,789th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a phrase, yolo means “Alternative letter-case form of YOLO” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in yolo?
| Letters | 4: Y-O-L-O |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 30,789th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is yolo?
Yolo appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,789th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce yolo?
- UK /ˈjəʊləʊ/
- US /ˈjoʊloʊ/
Yolo has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-YOLO.ogg, En-us-yolo.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with yolo?
8 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as yolo from its last stressed vowel (/oʊloʊ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
What does yolo mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
phrase
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of YOLO.
phrase
- 1
slangAcronym of you only live once, i.e. expressing the view that one should make the most of the present moment.
Making this cake mix eleven years past the expiration date, because YOLO!
verb
- 1
To make the most of the present moment.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Yolo in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense you only live once:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | on ne vit qu’une fois, on n’a qu’une vie |
| German | YOLO |
| Spanish | solo vives una vez, solo se vive una vez |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does yolo come from?
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 on September 12, 2016.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).