and

[ and; unstressed uhnd, uhn, or, especially after a homorganic consonant, n ]
See synonyms for and on Thesaurus.com
conjunction
  1. (used to connect grammatically coordinate words, phrases, or clauses) along or together with; as well as; in addition to; besides; also; moreover: pens and pencils.

  2. added to; plus: 2 and 2 are 4.

  1. then: He read for an hour and went to bed.

  2. also, at the same time: to sleep and dream.

  3. then again; repeatedly: He coughed and coughed.

  4. (used to imply different qualities in things having the same name): There are bargains and bargains, so watch out.

  5. (used to introduce a sentence, implying continuation) also; then: And then it happened.

  6. Informal. to (used between two finite verbs): Try and do it. Call and see if she's home yet.

  7. (used to introduce a consequence or conditional result): He felt sick and decided to lie down for a while. Say one more word about it and I'll scream.

  8. but; on the contrary: He tried to run five miles and couldn't. They said they were about to leave and then stayed for two more hours.

  9. (used to connect alternatives): He felt that he was being forced to choose between his career and his family.

  10. (used to introduce a comment on the preceding clause): They don't like each other—and with good reason.

  11. Archaic. if: and you please.: Compare an2.

noun
  1. an added condition, stipulation, detail, or particular: He accepted the job, no ands or buts about it.

Idioms about and

  1. and so forth, and the like; and others; et cetera: We discussed traveling, sightseeing, and so forth.

  2. and so on, and more things or others of a similar kind; and the like: It was a summer filled with parties, picnics, and so on.

Origin of and

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English and, ond; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German ant, Old Frisian, Gothic and, Icelandic and-; akin to German und, Dutch en, Sanskrit anti

usage note For and

Both and and but, and to a lesser extent or and so, are common as transitional words at the beginnings of sentences in all types of speech and writing: General Jackson thought the attack would come after darkness. And he was right. Any objection to this practice probably stems from the overuse of such sentences by inexperienced writers. When one of these words begins a sentence or an independent clause within a sentence, it is not followed by a comma unless the comma is one of a pair setting off a parenthetical element that follows: John is popular, and he seems to be well adjusted. But, appearances to the contrary, he is often depressed. See also and/or, et cetera, try.

Words Nearby and

Other definitions for AND (2 of 2)

AND
[ and ]

nounComputers.
  1. a Boolean operator that returns a positive result when both operands are positive.

Origin of AND

2
First recorded in 1945–50

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use and in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for and (1 of 3)

and

/ (ænd, unstressed ənd, ən) /


conjunction(coordinating)
  1. along with; in addition to: boys and girls

  2. as a consequence: he fell down and cut his knee

  1. afterwards: we pay the man and go through that door

  2. (preceded by good or nice) (intensifier): the sauce is good and thick

  3. plus: two and two equals four

  4. used to join identical words or phrases to give emphasis or indicate repetition or continuity: better and better; we ran and ran; it rained and rained

  5. used to join two identical words or phrases to express a contrast between instances of what is named: there are jobs and jobs

  6. informal used in place of to in infinitives after verbs such as try, go, and come: try and see it my way

  7. an obsolete word for if and it please you Informal spellings: an, an', 'n

noun
  1. (usually plural) an additional matter or problem: ifs, ands, or buts

Origin of and

1
Old English and; related to Old Frisian anda, Old Saxon ande, Old High German anti, Sanskrit atha

usage For and

The use of and instead of to after try and wait is typical of spoken language, but should be avoided in any writing which is not informal: We must try to prevent (not try and prevent) this happening

British Dictionary definitions for AND (2 of 3)

AND

abbreviation for
  1. Andorra (international car registration)

British Dictionary definitions for -and (3 of 3)

-and

suffix forming nouns
  1. indicating a person or thing that is to be dealt with in a specified way: analysand; dividend; multiplicand

Origin of -and

3
from Latin gerundives ending in -andus, -endus

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