Ayo

//ˈeɪ.(j)oʊ// intj, noun, phrase, slang

intj, noun, phrase, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A type of mancala strategy game played by the Yoruba. Africa, West, uncountable
Intj
  1. 1
    A greeting. slang

    ""Ayo, Red. It's the homie Spits on the jack for you, blood." "Ayo, homeboy," said Red as he excitedly picked up the telephone receiver. "What's up, fool?""

  2. 2
    Used to imply that what was said is inappropriate, perhaps sexually so. slang

    "Ayo, what'd you just say?"

Phrase
  1. 1
    Initialism of are you OK?. Internet, abbreviation, alt-of, initialism

Example

More examples

""Ayo, Red. It's the homie Spits on the jack for you, blood." "Ayo, homeboy," said Red as he excitedly picked up the telephone receiver. "What's up, fool?""

Etymology

Etymology 1

Combination of hey and yo.

Etymology 2

From Yoruba ayò, an abridged form of ayò ọlọ́pọ́n.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.