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ayo

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ayo¹

  • /ˈeɪ.(j)oʊ/

Where it comes from

Combination of hey and yo.

interjection

  1. US, error unknown tag, slang A greeting. "Ayo, Red. It's the homie Spits on the jack for you, blood." "Ayo, homeboy," said Red as he excitedly picked up the telephone receiver. "What's up, fool?"

    Similar: hey, hi, yo

  2. US, error unknown tag, slang Used to indicate shock towards sth esp. of a disapproving manner.
  3. US, error unknown tag, slang Used to imply that what was said is inappropriate, perhaps sexually so. Ayo, what'd you just say?

    Similar: hold up

ayo²

  • /ˈa.jo/

Where it comes from

From Yoruba ayò, an abridged form of ayò ọlọ́pọ́n.

noun

  1. Africa, West, uncountable A type of mancala strategy game played by the Yoruba.

AYO³

phrase

  1. Internet, abbreviation, initialism Initialism of are you OK?

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Cite this
MLA

"ayo." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ayo. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

ayo. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ayo

Chicago

"ayo." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ayo.

BibTeX
@misc{ayo_2026,
  title = {ayo},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ayo},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}