Do you know the definition of OC? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the abbreviation OC, including its definition, usage, examples, and more!
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According to Urban Dictionary, the acronym OC is an internet slang word that stands for original character. This is used in fanfiction to refer to a character that the author made up and inserted into a story. This can be lauded and awarded with merit when done well, but heavily criticised when executed poorly. Like all FanFiction, this breaks the “canon” of the story and expands the universe of the story for the enjoyment of the fans. People may wonder why people enjoy reading fanfiction – similar questions include why people enjoy writing it. For many, writing and reading fanfiction allows people to be heavily immersed in a universe they know and love while also exerting their creating skills.
Many young writers take to fanfiction as an entry point into novel writing. They have a pre-created universe before them, now all they have to do is write one of their own stories. While these can be less in-depth than many stories that are published, it is a great way to practice writing and story structure. There are many different structures of stories within fanfiction. There is what is called a “one shot” in which an author writes roughly five hundred to a couple thousand words. This is a single short story with a beginning, middle, and end. Many fanfiction writers also write lengthier stories. Some have a few chapters, while others are hundreds of chapters long. The content can also vary between stories. Many enjoy writing and reading romance fanfiction that includes “ships” or relationship pairings that may not exist canonically in the story they are reading. These could include slash fiction, which is usually male on male romance and sex, or other pairings. These can range from “fluff” which is cute romantic stories to “smut” which is hardcore sex.
According to The Free Dictionary, the OC definition can stand for much more than just original character. This term can be used to mean a plethora of other different definitions. However, these are less common and should be used sparingly. If you do decide to use one of these different shorthand definitions, you should ensure that you provide the reader or listener with the proper context so that you do not create confusion, particularly if you are using a slang term on a social media site like Facebook or Reddit. Learning new lingo and new words can be tough, but this vast collection will help you out! When in doubt, use the full meaning of OC.
Operations Coordinator
Order of Canada
Optical Colonoscopy
Out Calls
Other’s Cost
Ondes Courtes (French: shortwave)
Officer Commanding
Orange Crush
Oxygen Cutting
Output Coupler (optics, lasers)
On Center
OpenCup (online tournament)
Operating Carrier
Observer Controller
Octopus Card (Hong Kong smart payment card)
Odessa College (Odessa, Texas)
Out Cast (gaming clan)
Off Camera (cinematography)
Office and Communication Module
Optical Communications
Outside Corner (measuring in construction)
Orlando Cabrera (baseball player)
Open Canvas (art program)
Office of the Comptroller
Oregon City (Oregon)
Operation Class
Old Chinese (language of pre 400BC)
Output Check
Organizadora de Comercio (Spanish; Guatemala)
Oakwood College (Alabama, USA)
Ordres Courants (French: current orders)
Organochlorine
Oglethorpe County (Georgia)
Orange County (California area of residence; New York)
Overcurrent
Open Carry (firearm possession)
Ocean City
Operant Conditioning (a training technique)
Over Crowded
Outdoors Center (Texas A&M)
Oral Contraceptive
Occupancy Certificate (residential license)
Of Course
Offering Circular
Old Covenant (biblical law)
Output Compare
Open Content
Operational Control
Overcoat
Ormiston College
Order of the Carmelites (religious order)
Optical Channel
Orientation Course
Overture Center (performing arts)
Ocean City, MD
Ochoa & Clary (chemistry team)
Oracle Clinical
Operational Concept/Operating Concept
Obstetric Cholestasis
Office Call
Original Content
Oversight Committee
Organized Crime
Ordinary Cadet
Oral Communication
Operating Characteristic
On-scene Commander
Officer Candidate
On Course
Office of Censorship
Oregon Coast
Organisme Conventionné (French: Accredited Body)
Out of Control
Orientation Counselor
One Communications, Inc.
Opposing Counsel (legal notation)
Office of the Commissioner
Operation Center
Oak Cliff (Dallas neighborhood)
Operations Controller
Online Community
Omnipotent Carnage (gaming clan)
Opere Citato (Latin: In the Work Cited)
Officer in Command (police)
Operation Context
Oudste Categorie (Dutch)
Outer Chuck
Owners Corporation (Australia)
Organic Carbon
Object Class
Operator Console
Operating Company
Officer of the Order of Canada
Operating Curve
Other Character
Oceanic Crust
Offensive Coordinator (football)
Open Circuit (SCUBA and electronics)
Optional Component (Microsoft Windows)
Christian O’Connell (radio personality; UK)
OpenCalphad (computational thermodynamics)
Over Clock (computer CPU)
Oberlin College (Oberlin, Ohio)
Ocean Conservancy
Ottawa-Carleton
Organizational Committee of ACC
Outage Continuing
Organizing Committee (various organizations)
Oil Cooled (welding)
Organisme Certificateur
Over-Crossing
Open Within Memory Cell
Operating Cost
Operational Capability
Order Confirmation (purchases)
Open Collector (electronics, transistors)
Outside Contracting/Contractor
On Camera
Odin’s Court (rock and metal band)
Office Coordinator (administrative position)
Orospu Cocugu (Turkish: Son of a Bitch)
Otaku Convention (Japanese film festival)
Own Character
Optical Carrier
Office of Communications
Owl City (band)
Office of Compliance (US FDA)
Obsessive-Compulsive (behavior)
Oxnard College (Oxnard, CA)
Oliver Cromwell
Old Chap (ham radio shorthand)
Ordnance Controller
Oklahoma Christian University
Operation Channel
Open Computing
OxyContin (prescription drug; aka Oxys)
Oakland City (Indiana College)
Officer’s Cook
Outside Circumference
Old Chicago (restaurant)
Orange County (TV show, entertainment)
Communications Division (US Coast Guard)
Operator Centralization
Operating Committee
Oleoresin Capsicum (active ingredient in pepper spray)
Optical Center
Overall, the OC abbreviation means original character. The OC acronym is a slang term used on the internet – namely on fanfiction sites like FanFiction and Archive of Our Own (AO3) which refers to an original character that an author has made up and inserted into the world of the story. Like many fanfiction elements, this breaks the “canon” and cna expand the universe of the story for fans to enjoy.
Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.
Kevin
October 27, 2021
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