80+ Verbs That Start With O | List, Definitions & Examples
The English language includes over 80 verbs that start with O, ranging from “offer” and “order” to “opt” and “orchestrate.”
This guide includes definitions, tips, and examples to help you use verbs that start with O with confidence and precision. Study these lists to upgrade your vocabulary, sharpen your writing skills, and excel at your favorite word puzzles.
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15 essential verbs that start with O
Of all the verbs starting with O, the 15 verbs below are the most important for everyday communication. All of these are regular verbs that take “-ed” endings in the simple past tense.
- Object: Say you dislike a disagree with something
- Obey: Follow the rules or do what you’re told
- Observe: Watch something closely or notice a detail
- Occupy: Fill a space, room, building, or seat
- Occur: Happen or take place
- Offend: Make someone feel upset, hurt, or angry
- Offer: Ask if someone wants something
- Open: Undo a covering or closure (opposite of “close”)
- Operate: Control a machine or make it work; perform a surgery
- Oppose: Be against an idea or plan
- Opt: Make a choice between different things
- Order: Tell someone what they must do; ask for food at a restaurant
- Organize: Put things in a neat way or plan an event
- Owe: Be obligated to repay something (e.g., money that you borrowed)
- Own: Have something that belongs only to you
- Simple present tense: Add “-s” if the subject is third person and singular (e.g., “Taylor owns a private jet”).
- Simple past tense: Add “-ed” to regular verbs, like “order” (e.g., “Sasha ordered a triple shot of espresso”). Irregular verbs, like “oversleep,” have special past-tense spellings (e.g., “I was late because I overslept”).
QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you conjugate verbs that start with O.
Amanda borrowed $20 from me last month, and she still owes me $10.
Katarina opened the box and found a stack of old letters.
15 compound verbs that start with OUT
Several of the verbs that start with O are compound words that include “out” with a verb. In most of the verbs below, “out” means doing something more or better than someone else.
- Outbid: Offer more money than another person to buy something
- Outdate: Make something old-fashioned or no longer useful
- Outdo: Do something better than another person
- Outdress: Wear nicer or more formal clothes than someone else
- Outfit: Provide a person or group with clothes or equipment
- Outgrow: Become too big for your clothes or too old for a hobby
- Outlast: Last longer than someone or something else
- Outlaw: Make something illegal
- Outline: Draw a line around or make a list of the main parts
- Outlive: Live longer than someone else
- Outnumber: Include more things or people than another group
- Outrun: Run faster than someone else
- Outperform: Do a job or task better than someone or something else
- Outsmart: Use your brain to be more clever than someone else
- Outweigh: Be heavier or more important than something else
The baby has already outgrown all of her pajamas.
The new computer was designed to outperform older models.
The clever detective outsmarted the thief.
- Outgrow→outgrew→outgrown
- Outrun→outran→outrun
35 compound verbs that start with OVER
When a compound verb starts with “over,” it usually means “too much” or “beyond a limit.” “Over” can also mean “from a position above.”
- Overcome: Successfully handle a problem or feeling
- Overdo: Do something too much
- Overflow: Be too full of liquid so that it comes out over the top
- Overhaul: Completely change a machine or system to make it better
- Overhear: Unintentionally hear what other people are saying
- Overheat: Become too hot to work properly
- Overlap: Cover part of the same space as something else
- Overload: Put too much weight or information on something
- Overpay: Give more money than you should
- Overpopulate: Have too many people or animals living in one place
- Overpower: Use a lot of strength to defeat or control someone or something
- Overprescribe: Give too much medicine
- Overprice: Set the cost of something too high (most commonly used in the passive voice, e.g., “Designer handbags are overpriced”)
- Overprotect: Try too hard to keep someone safe from harm or mistakes
- Overrate: Think something is much better than it actually is (usually in the passive voice, e.g., “Hotel hot tubs are overrated”)
- Overreact: Respond in a way that’s too strong for the situation
- Overrely: Depend on someone too much
- Override: Use your power to change someone else’s decision
- Overrule: Officially change a decision made by someone else (like a judge)
- Overrun: Quickly fill or spread over a place
- Oversee: Watch or manage a job or group of people
- Oversell: Praise something too much or sell more than is available
- Overshadow: Make someone or something else seem less important
- Overshare: Tell too many personal details about your life
- Oversimplify: Describing something in a way that’s too simple
- Oversleep: Sleep longer than you planned
- Overspeculate: Guess too much about what might happen
- Overstaff: Hire more workers than needed
- Overstay: Stay in a place longer than expected or allowed
- Overstate: Describe something as larger or more important than it really is
- Overstep: Go beyond a limit, rule, or personal boundary
- Overstimulate: Give someone too much to look at, hear, or think about
- Overthrow: Remove a leader or government by force
- Overturn: Turn something upside down or cancel a legal decision
- Overwhelm: Give someone more than they can handle, often causing stress
The office was overstaffed, so the manager laid off three employees.
If you leave the faucet running, the sink might overflow.
The hotel charges a $200 fine to guests who overstay without advanced notice.
18 advanced verbs starting with O
The verbs that start with O in this list are most common in academic writing and formal discussions. Study this list to level up your reading skills and prepare for standardized tests.
- Obligate: Require someone do something
- Oblige: Do a favor for someone or feel you must do something
- Obscure: Hide something or make it more difficult
- Obsess: Think about one thing all the time
- Obstruct: Block a path or stop something from moving forward
- Obtain: Get something
- Officiate: Be the person in charge of a ceremony or event
- Omit: Leave something out
- Onboard: Hire someone and teach them how to do the job
- Opine: Give your opinion about something
- Oppress: Treat a group of people in a cruel or unfair way
- Optimize: Make something work efficiently and effectively
- Orate: Give a formal speech to a crowd
- Orchestrate: Plan a complicated event behind the scenes
- Ordain: Officially make someone a leader in a church or religion
- Orient: Find your position and get used to a new situation
- Originate: To be originally from somewhere
- Orphan: Cause a child to lose their parents
- Oust: Force someone out of a position of power
Miranda omitted her volunteering experiences from her resume.
Coffee originated in Africa, but now it also grows in South America and other areas.
The bride’s older brother will officiate the wedding ceremony.
Frequently asked questions about verbs that start with O
- What does omit mean?
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Omit means “to leave something out” or “to exclude something.” It’s a verb that usually applies to written documents (like a resume or an essay). You can also omit an ingredient from a recipe. Here are a couple of sentences with “omit.”
- You can omit your mailing address from your resume if you include an email address.
- When I cooked the soup, I omitted black pepper and used cayenne instead.
QuillBot’s AI Chat can show you other sentences with “omit” or help you learn about other verbs that start with O.
- What does obtain mean?
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Obtain means “to get or acquire something.” It’s one of the verbs that start with O. Here’s an example of a sentence with “obtain”:
- We obtained an antique chair from an estate sale last weekend.
QuillBot’s AI Chat can show you other sentences with “obtain” and help you practice using new vocabulary words.
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Routh, N. (2026, March 06). 80+ Verbs That Start With O | List, Definitions & Examples. Quillbot. Retrieved March 9, 2026, from https://quillbot.com/blog/word-finder/verbs-that-start-with-o/
