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• ama
  ama

  noun

  a Japanese diver, usually a woman, who tends underwater oyster beds used in the cultivation of pearls.
• -ama
  -ama

  variant of -orama, occurring as the final element in compounds when the first element is a disyllable ending in - r, used so that the entire word maintains the same number of syllables as panorama .
• A.M.A.
  A.M.A.

  abbreviation

  American Management Association.
• AMA
  AMA

  abbreviation

  American Medical Association

ama

¹ American  

[ah-mah] / ˈɑ mɑ /

noun

amas, plural ama plural

1. a Japanese diver, usually a woman, who tends underwater oyster beds used in the cultivation of pearls.

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-ama ² American  

1. variant of -orama, occurring as the final element in compounds when the first element is a disyllable ending in - r, used so that the entire word maintains the same number of syllables as panorama .

   rollerama; Futurama.

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A.M.A. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. American Management Association.

2. American Medical Association.

3. American Motorcycle Association.

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AMA British  

abbreviation

1. American Medical Association

2. Australian Medical Association

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ama
  plural
• amas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ama

From Japanese, dating back to 1945–50, of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

I am 60 years old, and ama server.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 18, 2026

He added in the comments: "WOULDVE been the ama performance but they cancelled me for reasons unknown."

From Salon • Nov. 21, 2022

Nepia, a caretaker at a Māori immersion school, is among a group of expert waka ama paddlers who have been training for the World Sprint Champs in Britain.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 14, 2022

“How will you ever swim past this terrible fish?” asked the old ama.

From Tales of Giants from Brazil by Eells, Elsie Spicer

The plural is in general formed by prefixing ama, and dropping in some cases the first syllable; as, indoda, a man; amadoda, men; ihashi, a horse; amahaski, horses.

From Sporting Scenes amongst the Kaffirs of South Africa by Drayson, A. W. (Alfred Wilks)