abbreviation
abbreviation
abbreviation
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occupational therapy
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occupational therapist
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Old Testament
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overtime
combining form
Usage
What does ot- mean? Ot- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “ear.” It is often used in medical terms, especially in anatomy and pathology.Ot- comes from the Greek oûs, meaning “ear.” Related to the Greek oûs is English’s own word ear; so is the Latin word for ear, auris, which is the ultimate source of such words as aural. Learn more about oûs at our entry for otic, an adjective used in anatomy meaning “of or relating to the ear.”Ot- is a variant of oto-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels.Want to know more? Read our Words That Use oto- article.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The biggest shot of the night in OT.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 21, 2026
Armis would provide ServiceNow with a scaled OT security solution that can bolster its existing $1 billion and more of Security and Risk businesses annual contract value.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 16, 2025
Trent Brown, OT, Texans: The one-time left tackle with the Super Bowl-winning Patriots and highest-paid offensive lineman in the league has been slowed by injuries in recent years.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 26, 2025
Game 3 was a one-sided clunker, but Game 1, Game 2 and Game 4 all went to sudden-death OT —hockey’s equivalent of dangling you over a bridge by your shoelaces while laughing maniacally.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 13, 2025
"Oh, it's not a nice place, like this. This is a regular country club. Over there they've got nothing. No OT to talk of, no walks..."
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
