O.B.E.

American  

abbreviation

1. Officer (of the Order) of the British Empire.

2. Order of the British Empire.

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OBE British  

abbreviation

1. Officer of the Order of the British Empire (a Brit title)

2. out-of-body experience

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Example Sentences

People routinely reject the O.B.E. and similar honors when they are first offered, including the higher honors of knighthoods and damehoods, which allow people to use the title Sir or Dame.

From New York Times • Jan. 27, 2023

In the bathroom at the back of the studio, there’s a stash of awards, including an O.B.E. from the Queen.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 28, 2016

A former associate dean at the Harvard Business School, Mr. Quelch, who also served as dean of the London Business School, was in Britain in December to collect an O.B.E. from Queen Elizabeth.

From New York Times • Jan. 1, 2012

Baron Nathaniel Mayer Victor Rothschild, 35, head of the British branch of the great banking family, who forsook finance to become a Cambridge don; and Teresa Georgina Mayor, O.B.E.,

From Time Magazine Archive

They'll probably give you a vote of thanks in Parliament, Nancy, to say nothing of an O.B.E.

From Mufti by McNeile, H. C. (Herman Cyril)