The interjection yolo was popularized by its use in Canadian rapper Drake’s 2011 single The Motto. The titular motto was YOLO, pronounced as a word. The acronym YOLO standing for “you only live once” can be sporadically found as early as 1993, as the longhand phrase “you only live once” has been in the language for over 100 years.

Yolo’s popularity peaked in 2012, when it was beaten out at word of the year awards by words like gif and hashtag. The OED began including yolo as an English word worthy of documentation in 2016.