Obey definition and meaning

Obey definition: If you obey a person, a command , or an instruction, you do what you are told to do. | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples

Definition of ’obey’

Word Frequency


obey


(


oʊb




)

Word forms:


obeys


,


obeying


,


obeyed


transitive verb


/


intransitive verb

If you

obey

a person, a command, or an instruction, you do what you are told to do.


Cissie obeyed her mother without question.


Most people obey the law.


It was his duty to obey.

Synonyms:


abide by

,

keep

,

follow

,

comply with


More Synonyms of

obey


More Synonyms of

obey


COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary

. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

Video: pronunciation of

obey

Word Frequency


obey


in American English


(


oʊˈbeɪ



)


verb transitive


1.

to carry out the instructions or orders of


2.

to carry out (an instruction or order)


3.

to be

guided

by;

submit

to the control of


to

obey

one’s conscience


verb intransitive


4.

Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Derived forms



obeyer


(

oˈbeyer

)


noun

Word origin

ME

obeien

< OFr

obeir

< L

obedire,

to obey < OL

oboedire

<

ob-

(see

ob-

) +

audire,

to hear: see

audience

Word Frequency


obey


in British English


(


əˈbeɪ



)


verb


1.

to carry out (

instructions

or orders);

comply

with (

demands

)


2.

to

behave

or act in

accordance

with (one’s

feelings

,

whims

, etc)

Collins English Dictionary

. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms



obeyer


(

oˈbeyer

)


noun

Word origin

C13: from Old French

obéir,

from Latin

oboedīre,

from

ob-

to, towards +

audīre

to hear

Examples of ‘obey’ in a sentence

obey


Read more…


No

wonder

obeying

national

laws or paying

taxes


feels

such an

imposition

.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2016

)


You could

render

yourself’guilty’ by obeying the law.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2017

)


You

must

obey my laws and

follow

my

decrees

.


Christianity Today



(

2000

)


They had to obey

strict


security

instructions or be

expelled

.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2009

)


Do you

think

people should obey you without

question

?


Times, Sunday Times



(

2007

)


One can only obey the

call

and

present

oneself.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2014

)


Only my right

arm


still

obeyed me.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2011

)


We

will


show


solidarity

and we will obey the law.


The Sun



(

2011

)


It was

code

for her to obey his instructions.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2009

)



Best


get

on with doing the

job

while still obeying the law.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2012

)

Show more…


This

simple


requirement

to obey the law works

well

when the law is

clear

.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2015

)


And heads must obey their crackpot instructions.


The Sun



(

2006

)


People were therefore

obliged

by

considerations

of

self-interest

to obey the commands of

established

government.


Eccleshall, Robert


English Conservatism since the Restoration: An introduction and anthology



(

1990

)


And

maybe

that’s what one is obeying.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2010

)


He wouldn’t

eat

or

sleep

or obey any command.


The Sun



(

2010

)


A

society


runs

much more efficiently if people obey without being constantly

coerced

.


Low, Nicholas


Politics, Planning and the State



(

1990

)


You control what you

want

to do to them and by the time they are

trained

, they obey you without question.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2014

)


In this line of

thought

, the

manager

ought to be a

dictator

: obeyed without question.


Times, Sunday Times



(

2013

)

Trends of

obey

View usage over:

In other languages

obey


British English

:


obey


əˈbeɪ

/

VERB

If you

obey

a rule, instruction, or person, you do what you are told to do.
Most people obey the law.


American English

:


obey


oʊˈbeɪ

/


Arabic

:

يُطِيعُ


Brazilian Portuguese

:

obedecer


Chinese

:


服从


Croatian

:

poštovati


Czech

:

poslouchat


Danish

:

adlyde


Dutch

:

gehoorzamen


European Spanish

:


obedecer


Finnish

:

totella


French

:


obéir


German

:


gehorchen


Greek

:

υπακούω


Italian

:


ubbidire


Japanese

:

従う


Korean

:

순종하다


Norwegian

:

adlyde


Polish

:

być posłusznym


European Portuguese

:


obedecer


Romanian

:

a fi supus


Russian

:

слушаться


Spanish

:


obedecer


Swedish

:

lyda


Thai

:

เชื่อฟัง


Turkish

:

boyun eğmek


Ukrainian

:

слухатися


Vietnamese

:

vâng lời


Translate your text for free

Nearby words of

obey

Source

Definition of

obey

from the

Collins English Dictionary

Quick word challenge

Quiz Review

Question:

1

Score:


0

/

5


pain


or


pane

?

Which version is correct?


waist


or


waste

?

Drag the correct answer into the box.
waist
waste


He put his arm round my


.


principal


or


principle

?

Drag the correct answer into the box.
principle
principal


It’s not just a matter of


.


scent


or


sent

?

Which version is correct?


written


or


wrote

?

Drag the correct answer into the box.
written
wrote


I have


quite a lot of orchestral music.


Your score:

May 01, 2021

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the Muse of comedy and pastoral poetry


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Scrabble score
for ‘obey’:


9

1 2 3

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