Words that start with O

An odometer is a device that is used for measuring how far you have traveled. Odometers are usually fitted inside cars and other vehicles.

Something is off if it is not powered up and available to be used. The computer in the picture is switched off. Off also can be used to indicate something no longer attached to something else: "the branch broke off the tree", or for reducing something: "take ten percent off the price". The opposite of off is on.

Offshore means in the water some distance from the shore, the sandy area where land meets a body of water such as an ocean or a lake.

Oil is a substance that is liquid at room temperature. Oil does not mix with water. Oil can be heated to much higher temperatures than water can, and so is useful in cooking food. Because oil does not stick to things, it is used to help stop food sticking when it is being cooked, and it helps stop parts of machinery like car engines from sticking together when they are running. Most oils will burn under the right conditions and can be used as a heat or light source, and a fuel to run things like internal combustion engines. Oil can be made from the seeds of many plants, as well as dug up from under the ground. Oil that comes from the ground used to be plants or animals many thousands of years ago, and had been changed into oil by the movement of the Earth.

The okapi is an animal that lives in the forests of Central Africa. It looks a bit like a mix of a deer and a giraffe, and it has dark brown and tan stripes on its legs. Okapi use their long necks to reach leaves from trees. They are shy and live mostly alone.