obey

verb

obeyed; obeying

transitive verb

1
: to follow the commands or guidance of
He always obeys his parents.
2
: to conform to or comply with
obey an order
Falling objects obey the laws of physics.

intransitive verb

: to behave obediently
The dog does not always obey.
obeyer noun

Examples of obey in a Sentence

His dog has learned to obey several commands. He always obeys his parents. The children must obey the rules. The children must learn to obey.
Recent Examples on the Web The Second Law: A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. Eli Amdur, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024 Waymo declined to comment on the case, but shared a video of a Waymo obeying hand signals from a police officer in Los Angeles. Trisha Thadani, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024 Women are generally released after several hours once a male relative signs a decree promising that their female relative will obey the decree. Chris Massaro, Fox News, 27 Jan. 2024 The school, which encourages conformity, says other students obey the rules. Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 25 Jan. 2024 Failure to obey a draft order could mean tougher penalties, including possible suspension of a driver’s license or a bank account, though officials acknowledge the implementation of enforcement measures requires attention. CNN, 21 Feb. 2024 To ensure counties are obeying the law, the legislation would allow a person or business to sue the county, with the county picking up the legal fees if the lawsuit is successful. Lawrence Mower, Miami Herald, 5 Feb. 2024 Shepherd asked that people please obey city parking regulations so plows can clear the street. Sophie Carson, Journal Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2024 Yet, at the same time, also obeying Trump, House Republicans are determined to cut off military aid for Ukraine. Trudy Rubin, Twin Cities, 4 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'obey.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English obeien, borrowed from Anglo-French obeir, going back to Latin oboedīre, from ob- "toward, in the direction of" + -oedīre, probably unstressed form (with -oe- of uncertain origin) of audīre "to hear" — more at ob-, audible entry 1

Note: The -oe- in oboedīre is peculiar both because it is not the expected result of -au- in a non-initial syllable (the regular outcome is -ū-) and because -oe- is in any case rare non-initially. Various attempts have been made to account for the irregularity. Reflecting earlier suggestions, Michiel de Vaan hypothesizes pre-Latin *ób-awizdijō > *obowizdijō > *oboizdijō (rounding of a before w, which is then lost, prior to the weakening of a to u) > oboediō (with z blocking monophthongization of -oi- to -ū- before succumbing to cluster reduction) (see Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the Other Italic Languages, Brill, 2008). As an alternative to assumptions of questionable phonetic change, it has also been suggested that a base other than audīre is at issue (Michael Weiss suggests *ob-bhoi̯diō, from a nominal derivative of the base of fīdere "to trust" [see faith entry 1]; see Outline of the Historical and Comparative Grammar of Latin, Ann Arbor, 2009, p. 120).

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of obey was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near obey

Cite this Entry

“Obey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obey. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

obey

verb
obeyed; obeying
1
a
: to follow the commands or guidance of
obeyed her parents
b
: to be obedient
trained the dog to obey
2
: to act in agreement with : carry out
obey an order
obey the rules

More from Merriam-Webster on obey

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