San

¹ American  

[sahn] / sɑn /

noun

plural

Sans,

plural

San

1. a member of a nomadic aboriginal people of southern Africa.

2. any of more than a dozen related Khoisan languages spoken by the San.

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San ² American  

[sahn] / sɑn /

noun

1. a river in central Europe, flowing from the Carpathian Mountains in W Ukraine through SE Poland into the Vistula: battles 1914–15. About 280 miles (450 km) long.

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-san ³ American  

1. a suffix used in Japanese as a term of respect after names or titles.

   Suzuki-san; samurai-san.

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San ¹ British  

/ sɑːn /

noun

1. an aboriginal people of southern Africa

2. a group of the Khoisan languages, spoken mostly by Bushmen

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San ² British  

/ sɑːn /

noun

1. a river in E central Europe, rising in W Ukraine and flowing northwest across SE Poland to the Vistula River. Length: about 450 km (280 miles)

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san ³ British  

/ sæn /

noun

1. old-fashioned short for sanatorium

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Etymology

Origin of -san

< Japanese, contraction of -sama suffix denoting direction, appearance, respect

Example Sentences

Research by UC San Francisco’s Sharon suggests migraine headaches predispose people to BPPV, by causing crystals to dislodge from their normal location.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

On the morning of July 5, Pecora Cardenas followed vans full of Border Patrol agents after they left a Coast Guard station in San Pedro, south of Los Angeles, livestreaming their movements on Instagram.

From Salon • Apr. 15, 2026

Uber employees can take the vehicles for test rides in California’s San Francisco Bay Area, the companies said on Monday.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026

Tesla and financial services firm Charles Schwab left the San Francisco Bay Area in 2021.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

“He has a flight to San Francisco this afternoon. I’m sorry,” Benji's mom said to Ms. Rannells.

From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty