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

“I got an O.B.E. It’s Officer of the British Empire, but I’ve always known it as a British sweetheart, treasured. “

From New York Times • Oct. 4, 2017

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

To his post Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King promptly appointed McCarthy's assistant, Lester Bowles Pearson, O.B.E., one of the ablest men in Canada's small but expert foreign service.

From Time Magazine Archive

Widespread alarm has been caused in London by the report that a certain famous artist has threatened to paint a Futurist picture of a typical O.B.E.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, 1920-02-18 by Various