ala
noun
a wing.
ala
1 American
[ey-luh]
/ ˈeɪ lə /
noun
-
alae
plural
-
a wing.
-
a winglike part, process, or expansion, as of a bone, shell, seed, or stem.
-
either of the two side petals of a flower in the legume family, as the pea.
-
(in an ancient Roman house) a small room, as an alcove, opening into a larger room or courtyard.
Ala
2
American
[ah-lah]
/ ˈɑ lɑ /
noun
Ala
3
American
abbreviation
Biochemistry.
Ala.
4
American
abbreviation
A.L.A.
5
American
abbreviation
-
American Library Association.
-
Associate in Liberal Arts.
-
Authors League of America.
-
Automobile Legal Association.
ala
1
British
/ ˈeɪlə /
noun
-
zoology a wing or flat winglike process or structure, such as a part of some bones and cartilages
-
botany a winglike part, such as one of the wings of a sycamore seed or one of the flat petals of a sweet pea flower
Ala.
2
British
abbreviation
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ala
1730–40; < Latin āla wing, armpit, shoulder, representing *aks-lā, derivative of same base as axis axle ( see axis 1); see axle
Vocabulary lists containing ala
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But if you’ve got room in the basket, go ahead and lay some onions, carrots or celery under the bird or even stuff the cavity with some halved lemons, grapes, garlic and herbs, ala Colwin.
From Salon ● May 9, 2025
Once everyone in the secondary is heathy, Bryant could end up being something of jack-of-all-trades reserve, ala Ryan Neal.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 2, 2023
But for now, it appears that the two companies are on track toward further integration, ala Google and Nest.
From The Verge ● Aug. 19, 2022
The only question is whether he breaks the bank or opts for a more team-friendly deal ala Tom Brady to surround himself with more talent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2022
Monoptere, from μόνος solus, and πτὲρον ala; is that which has but one Wing or Isle; it was a sort of a round Temple, whose Roof was supported by Pillars only.
From An Abridgment of the Architecture of Vitruvius Containing a System of the Whole Works of that Author by Perrault, Claude
The dream for some Camden residents and officials is that their town gets national recognition one day as an aerospace and defense hub, with similar stature to Huntsville, Ala.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 2026
Her two sisters, Ala and Jana, nod in agreement as we sit, squeezed together on this cold winter's day, on an old lumpy sofa in their humble home in Homs.
From BBC ● Dec. 17, 2024
The network managed to snag its first presidential primary debate last December, presenting the Republican candidates from Tuscaloosa, Ala.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2024
Morrell and McKeefery join former UW tight ends coach Nick Sheridan — now the Crimson Tide’s co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach — and JaMarcus Shephard, the wide receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 2024
“Is that why you wanted to study the Ala Wai Canal for the observation journal?”
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
Speaking from their home in Tuscaloosa, Ala., apart from Weaver, Allman brushes off such criticism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
He found more than 100 in Huntsville, Ala., his hometown, and started DeFlock, a site to organize opposition and create a crowdsourced map of camera locations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Born Trent Clutts on Dec. 16, 1958, in Huntsville, Ala., Cody was inspired to pursue a career in broadcasting during visits to a Kentucky radio station with his dad.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
The company is based in Huntsville, Ala., and is led by James “Trip” Ferguson External link.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
P. 206, Route 10 heading, "Ala." to more frequent "Al."
From Norman's New Orleans and Environs Containing a Brief Historical Sketch of the Territory and State of Louisiana and the City of New Orleans, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time by Norman, B. M.
The A.L.A. experimented with arrangements for choosing the winners before opting, in the late 1930s, for a committee of 23 librarians who selected both the Newbery and Caldecott recipients.
From New York Times ● Dec. 12, 2019
Up until his remarks at the A.L.A. conference, Ungerer had co-existed in several worlds at once, working brilliantly in each.
From The New Yorker ● Feb. 4, 2015
But Ungerer crossed a line at the A.L.A. event, as the crowd pushed him—asking how dare he draw “Fornicon” and children’s books.
From The New Yorker ● Feb. 4, 2015
It was the first A.L.A. award for Mr. Alexander, a poet and novelist who has published 17 books.
From New York Times ● Feb. 2, 2015
He was president of the A.L.A. in 1893-94.
From The Library and Society Reprints of Papers and Addresses by Bostwick, Arthur Elmore
The wildlife refuge is a wetland that provides nesting, feeding and resting habitat to the endangered Hawaiian stilt, known as aeo, and the Hawaiian coot or alae keokeo.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 9, 2023
From sixty to eighty feet, divide the length by four and one half and let the result be the width of the alae.
From The Ten Books on Architecture by Vitruvius Pollio
The name of this god was Pua; its body was made of a bird, now eaten by the Hawaiians, and called in their language alae.
From Roughing It, Part 7. by Twain, Mark
From eighty feet to one hundred feet, the length divided into five parts will produce the right width for the alae.
From The Ten Books on Architecture by Vitruvius Pollio
The medial ramus of the pterygoid does not articulate with the otic capsule, and the parasphenoid alae are laterally, rather than posterolaterally, oriented.
From A Synopsis of Neotropical Hylid Frogs, Genus Osteocephalus by Duellman, William E.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
