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Is "roger" equivalent to "Ok"? I hear it in war movies, movies like Star Wars Clone Wars, and in war games.

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It's not necessarily military, it's more radio slang.

In certain radio alphabets Roger stands for the letter R, which in radio communications stands for received.

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    I didn't know this - I actually thought it meant "Ok" (and I am a native english speaker). Thanks!
    – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft
    Jun 28, 2011 at 21:09
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    @BlueRaja: The meaning is similar, and because of the common use of this in war movies etc. it has also been quite popular to use it in daily speach as a synonym to "OK".
    – awe
    Jun 29, 2011 at 8:44
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    + 1 roger that = received that
    – b.roth
    Jun 29, 2011 at 14:45
  • It's not really radio 'slang', it's radio terminology.
    – DJClayworth
    Jun 29, 2011 at 16:26
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    @nico: Certainly 'slang' is slang for 'jargon', but I don't think 'slang' is jargon for 'jargon'.
    – Peter Shor
    Oct 5, 2011 at 12:52
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"Roger" is from WWII-era radio code for the letter "R", and was used as a more-understandable shorthand for "Received", an acknowledgement of the message. More recently, radio shorthand has moved to "copy" (an exact synonym) or "wilco" (short for "will comply" and appropriate for commands).

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    Also: "roger wilco" for "understood and will comply."
    – The Raven
    Jun 28, 2011 at 19:32
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    Also "roger roger" if you're a cool Star Wars patois-speaking robot.
    – Fattie
    Jun 28, 2011 at 19:56
  • @Joe Blow — I love the parallel evolution of "roger roger" in the prequels and "kk" online. :-D
    – Ben Blank
    Jun 28, 2011 at 23:13
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    @The Raven 'Note that "ROGER" and "WILCO" are mutually exclusive, since WILCO includes the acknowledgement of ROGER.' from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procedure_word#WILCO
    – matt
    Jun 29, 2011 at 4:20
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    @Joel I once named a Vector "victor".
    – matt
    Jun 29, 2011 at 4:23
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From Wikipedia

"Roger" means "I have received all of the last transmission" in both military and civilian aviation radio communications. This usage comes from the initial R of received: R was called Roger in the radio alphabets current at the time, such as the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet. It is also often shortened in writing to "rgr". R is Romeo in the modern NATO phonetic alphabet.

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  • Technically "message received and understood".
    – DJClayworth
    Jun 29, 2011 at 16:24
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Yes, roger or roger that means message received. From Merriam-Webster:

used especially in radio and signaling to indicate that a message has been received and understood

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