English Reference

Word

oklahoma

Phoneticsok·la·homa

/ˌoʊkɫəˈhoʊmə/

Definitions

01US state

B1

n. a state in the central part of the United States.

n. a state in the South Central United States, bordered by Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado.

“She moved to Oklahoma to start a new job in Oklahoma City.”

“The economy of Oklahoma is heavily dependent on the energy sector, particularly oil and natural gas production.”

02historical territory

C1

n. the name of the area before it became an official US state in 1907.

n. an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from 1890 until it joined with Indian Territory to form the state of Oklahoma.

“Settlers rushed into the Oklahoma Territory during the late nineteenth century.”

“The legal status of the Oklahoma Territory was defined by the Organic Act of 1890, which established a formal government for the region.”

Archaic

Etymology

From Choctaw okla (“people”) + homa (“red”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry

Level
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/oklahoma

English Reference