YOLO

[ yoh-loh ]

interjection

1. You only live once! (used especially to rationalize impulsive or reckless behavior):

   I bought those expensive shoes I've been eying—YOLO!

verb (used without object)

1. to engage in impulsive or reckless behavior with this sort of rationalization:

   We’ve been YOLOing all night.

Word History and Origins

Origin of YOLO¹

First recorded in 1995–2000; but popularized by the Canadian rapper Drake in his song “The Motto”

Example Sentences

“It’s kind of silly,” said Yolo County Registrar Jesse Salinas, commenting on efforts to convince some county boards to interfere with the acceptance of voting results.

From Los Angeles Times

Erika Patricia Deluque Barros said she was working in a tomato field in Yolo County when she first started feeling shaky and nauseous.

From Los Angeles Times

And the workers — now dubbed the Yolo Six — have been held up as an example of the need for California to do more to enforce compliance with heat safety rules for farmworkers that have been in place for nearly two decades.

From Los Angeles Times

The Sikh Coalition, a U.S.-based civil rights group, said in a statement that the Yolo County incident, while under investigation, “underscores the continued threat of Indian transnational repression.”

From Los Angeles Times

On Aug. 11, when Raju was making a late-night food run with two friends, someone fired at his pickup truck as it traveled down Interstate 505 in rural Yolo County.

From Los Angeles Times