not any particular or certain one of a class or group.
a man; a chemical; a house.
a certain; a particular.
one at a time; two of a kind; A Miss Johnson called.
another; one typically resembling.
a Cicero in eloquence; a Jonah.
one (used before plural nouns that are preceded by a quantifier singular in form): a hundred men (comparehundreds of men ); a dozen times (comparedozens of times ).
indefinitely or nonspecifically (used with adjectives expressing number).
a great many years; a few stars.
one (used before a noun expressing quantity).
a yard of ribbon; a score of times.
any; a single.
not a one.
the first letter of the English alphabet, a vowel.
any spoken sound represented by the letter A or a, as in bake, hat, father, or small.
something having the shape of an A .
a written or printed representation of the letter A or a.
a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter A or a.
not know from A to B, to know nothing; be ignorant.
from A to Z, from beginning to end; thoroughly; completely.
He knows the Bible from A to Z.
the first in order or in a series.
Sometimes a
(in some grading systems) a grade or mark, as in school or college, indicating the quality of a student's work as excellent or superior.
(in some school systems) a symbol designating the first semester of a school year.
Music.
the sixth tone in the scale of C major or the first tone in the relative minor scale, A minor.
a string, key, or pipe tuned to this tone.
a written or printed note representing this tone.
(in the fixed system of solmization) the sixth tone of the scale of C major, called la.
the tonality having A as the tonic note.
Physiology. a major blood group, usually enabling a person whose blood is of this type to donate blood to persons of group A or AB and to receive blood from persons of O or A.
Sometimes a the medieval Roman numeral for 50 or 500.
Chemistry. (formerly) argon.
Chemistry, Physics. mass number.
Biochemistry.
Logic. Also a universal affirmative.
British. a designation for a motion picture recommended as suitable for adults.
a proportional shoe width size, narrower than B and wider than AA.
a proportional brassiere cup size, smaller than B and larger than AA.
a quality rating for a corporate or municipal bond, lower than AA and higher than BBB.
about.
acre; acres.
active.
adjective.
alto.
ampere; amperes.
anonymous.
answer.
are; ares.
Baseball. assist; assists.
Absolute.
Academy.
acre; acres.
America.
American.
angstrom.
answer.
April.
Artillery.
music
a note having a frequency of 440 hertz ( A above middle C ) or this value multiplied or divided by any power of 2; the sixth note of the scale of C major
a key, string, or pipe producing this note
the major or minor key having this note as its tonic
a human blood type of the ABO group, containing the A antigen
(in Britain) a major arterial road
the A3 runs from London to Portsmouth
a film certified for viewing by anyone, but which contains material that some parents may not wish their children to see
( as modifier )
an A film
mass number
the number 10 in hexadecimal notation
cards ace
chem argon (now superseded by Ar )
ampere(s)
Also: at. ampere-turn
absolute (temperature)
(in circuit diagrams) ammeter
area
(in combination) atomic
an A-bomb
an A-plant
chem affinity
biochem adenine
logic a universal affirmative categorical proposition, such as all men are mortal: often symbolized as SaP Compare E I 2 O 1
a person whose job is in top management, or who holds a senior administrative or professional position
( as modifier ) See also occupation groupings
an A worker
used preceding a singular countable noun, if the noun is not previously specified or known
a dog
a terrible disappointment
used preceding a proper noun to indicate that a person or thing has some of the qualities of the one named
a Romeo
a Shylock
used preceding a noun or determiner of quantity
a cupful
a dozen eggs
a great many
to read a lot
used preceding a noun indicating a concrete or abstract thing capable of being divided
half a loaf
a quarter of a minute
each or every; per
once a day
fifty pence a pound
a certain; one
to change policy at a stroke
a Mr Jones called
(preceded by not) any at all
not a hope
acceleration
are(s) (metric measure of land)
atto-
chess See algebraic notation
the first letter and first vowel of the modern English alphabet
any of several speech sounds represented by this letter, in English as in take, bag, calm, shortage, or cobra
Also called: alpha. the first in a series, esp the highest grade or mark, as in an examination
from start to finish, thoroughly and in detail
acre(s) or acreage
America(n)
answer
on; in; towards
afoot
abed
aground
aback
literary (used before a present participle) in the act or process of
come a-running
go a-hunting
in the condition or state of
afloat
alive
asleep
In both spoken and written English the choice of a1 or an 1 is determined by the initial sound of the word that follows. Before a consonant sound, a is used; before a vowel sound, an : a book, a rose; an apple, an opera. Problems arise occasionally when the following word begins with a vowel letter but actually starts with a consonant sound, or vice versa. Some words beginning with the vowel letter u and all words beginning with the vowel letters eu are pronounced with a beginning consonant sound, as if the first letter were y : a union; a European. Some other spellings that begin with a vowel letter may also stand for an initial consonant sound: a ewe; a ewer. The words one and once and all compounds of which they are the first element begin with a w sound: a one-room apartment; a once-famous actor. The names of the consonant letters f, h, l, m, n, r, s, and x are pronounced with a beginning vowel sound. When these letters are used as words or to form words, they are preceded by an : to rent an L-shaped studio; to fly an SST. The names of the vowel letter u and the semivowel letters w and y are pronounced with a beginning consonant sound. When used as words, they are preceded by a : a U-turn; The plumber installed a Y in the line. In some words beginning with the letter h, the h is not pronounced; the words actually begin with a vowel sound: an hour; an honor. When the h is strongly pronounced, as in a stressed syllable at the beginning of a word, it is preceded by a : a history of the Sioux; a hero sandwich. (In former times an was used before strongly pronounced h in a stressed first syllable: an hundred. ) Such adjectives as historic, historical, heroic, and habitual, which begin with an unstressed syllable and often with a silent or weakly pronounced h, are commonly preceded by an, especially in British English. But the use of a rather than an is widespread in both speech and writing: a historical novel; a habitual criminal. Hotel and unique are occasionally preceded by an, but this use is increasingly old-fashioned. Although in some dialects an has yielded to a in all cases, edited writing reflects usage as described above.
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English; originally preconsonantal phonetic variant of an 1
Originally Middle English a, preconsonantal variant of on ( a- 1 ); confused with a 1
Middle English; unstressed preconsonantal variant of of 1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English; a phonetic variant of have
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English a, ha
Middle English, late Old English; cf. a 2, nowadays
Middle English; see a 3
Middle English; Old English a- (unstressed), ǣ-, ā-, ō- (stressed; see abb, woof 1, oakum), rarely or- ( see ordeal), ultimately from unattested Germanic uz- from unstressed Indo-European uss-, from ud-s (these latter two also unattested), akin to out; in some cases confused with a- 4, as in abridge
Middle English < Latin ā-, a- (variant of ab- ab- ); in some words < French a- < Latin ab-, as in abridge
Middle English, in some words < Middle French a- < Latin ad- prefix or ad preposition ( ad- ), as in abut; in others < Latin a- (variant of ad- ad- ), as in ascend
From Latin feminine ending -a, as Claudia, feminine of Claudius; see -a 2
Probably generalized from the -a of magnesia
< Latin annō, ablative of annus
From the Latin word ante
< Latin annō, ablative of annus
From the Latin word ante
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The water main ruptured in the early hours of July 16, creating a massive sinkhole on Sunset Boulevard and Holloway Drive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
A combined seven yellow cards were shown in what was a thrilling and action-packed game.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
As of Saturday, crews replaced a 25-foot section of the damaged pipe with a new 3-foot steel pipe.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
However, England replacements Henry Pollock and Emmanuel Iyogun were next to be sent to the sin-bin, making for a nervy finish.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
By now, she says, the horrors of World War II “stand out in a kaleidoscopic pattern in my memory.”
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
A combined seven yellow cards were shown in what was a thrilling and action-packed game.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
A 15-year-old and 18-year-old were severely injured but survived.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
A day after being forced out, Fedorov on Thursday held an extraordinary press conference at which he accused the commander of dividing the country.
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
A family member in her 80s recently inherited some money from a distant relative.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
“In here,” he says, “is all you need for a claim. A compass. Stakes, ribbons to mark the allowed one hundred and sixty acres.”
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
In the new study, the research team employed state-of-the-art cryo-electron microscopy techniques to capture nine different states associated with the lipid transport and determine structures at 2.4 to 3.1 Å resolution for these states.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 5, 2023
Danish, an often staccato language spoken by only about six million people and whose alphabet includes the letters Æ, Ø and Å, is perhaps an unlikely choice for pop’s next lingua franca.
From New York Times ● Apr. 19, 2023
Note: The length unit angstrom, Å, is often used to represent atomic-scale dimensions and is equivalent to 10−10 m.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
Ten days after discovery, the dominant feature in the spectrum is a broad emission centred at about 21,000 Å.
From Nature ● Oct. 15, 2017
The exposed oxygen atoms were terminated as surface silanol groups, and 30 Å vacuum space was added to the b-axis direction.
From Nature ● Mar. 14, 2017
Its name comes from the Scottish Gaelic word cheò, meaning mist, and is a reference to the Gaelic name of Isle of Syke - Eilean a' Cheò or Isle of Mist.
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2024
Some songs—such as “A Guid New Year to ane a’ A’”—were widely recognized.
From National Geographic ● Dec. 27, 2023
Whether all this adds up to some big change a’ coming to City Hall, it’s too soon to say.
From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2023
After a’ dominating Thanksgiving win over Dallas two-plus years ago, Anthony posted a clip of his brother’s leaping pick-six of quarterback Andy Dalton and urged people to vote for Sweat to make the Pro Bowl.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 5, 2023
If yer want ter be ’ere, yo’ll non want me messin’ abaht a’ th’ time.”
From "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Author
And Robert Heath was sort of a- adventurous entrepreneur of a neurologist and psychiatrist.
From Scientific American ● May 4, 2023
That giant thing of spices that looks like a-
From Salon ● Mar. 30, 2019
Average sizes are about 2.0 μm and 1.2 μm along the a- and c-axes, respectively. b, AFM height image and height profiles for the MFI nanosheets.
From Nature ● Mar. 14, 2017
The Israeli grandmaster plays the positional side of a Benko Gambit to perfection, building up great pressure on the a- and b-files while the great Benko bishop strafes the White position from g7.
From Washington Times ● May 12, 2015
"Well, don't do it again. Understand? Not at night There's enough silly talk about beasts, without the litthlus seeing you gliding about like a-" The derisive laughter that rose had fear in it and condemnation.
From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
It was also common to see his “ Austin 3:16” T-shirts -a cheeky play on the John 3:16 Bible verse - in schools and malls across the country.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 28, 2023
I don't think the "-e" should eliminate the existing "-o" and the "-a."
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2022
In person, you do things like a basic fitness test -a bleep test - but you don't need qualifications.
From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2022
He needs to grow up or get out -a cancer in the locker room.
From New York Times ● Jan. 9, 2017
‘I’m not -a thief!’ coughed Torak, snatching at his throat.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
"The All Blacks are a classy outfit, and they'll punish you if you're not on your A- game, and at times we weren't," admitted Irish skipper Dan Sheehan.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
Incredibly, one in 12 lacked middle-school math skills, and 94% had completed an advanced math course and received an average A- in their high-school math classes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
“Frozen Empire” garnered a B+ CinemaScore from moviegoers, a tick down from the A- score for “Afterlife.”
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 24, 2024
Normally it’s sort of fun to count the A- , B-, and Z-listers shilling for mayonnaise and sneakers.
From Slate ● Feb. 12, 2024
"W t's the Hand's tourney that's the cause of all the trou- I ble, my lords," the Commander of the City Watch A- complained to the king's council.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Use the answer to part a. to find a general formula for the present value of payments of C dollars received each year over the next n years, assuming an average annual interest rate r.
From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016
Using a. and b. is the train speeding up or slowing down?
From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016
Use your answers to parts a. and d. to determine which of the three options is best.
From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016
Find the derivative of the equation in a. and explain its physical meaning.
From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016
When we got there, Grandma was out in the yard, standing over a. thing made out of lumber in the shape of a teepee.
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
His wife, Asia R. A., was handed a juvenile sentence of nine and a half years.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
“Other strong cross-phase contenders include Canada, France, Israel, Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland and the U.K.,” the B. of A. economists said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
In the 1930s and ’40s, Eleanor Roosevelt famously became Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “eyes, ears and legs” because he was limited by polio, said Barbara A. Perry, a professor of governance at the University of Virginia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
Whimsical as these are, the most striking object here is the 1925-40 “Cenotaph to Three Martyred Presidents,” an inlaid-wood panel with images of Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield and William McKinley.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
He staggered into the arms of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
You know, that’s actually the easiest of all things, if you look, cause it’s such a–
From Slate ● Jan. 22, 2020
The montage ends with a honest rap from Issa: “I don’t want to be here, but my ex won’t take me back. So my broken a– is here, small-talking over apps.”
From Washington Post ● Jul. 28, 2017
We created a– civilian review board, gave them their own detectives.
From Time ● Jan. 17, 2016
MELBER: Now your path here– involved time as a– as a lawyer and a prosecutor.
From MSNBC ● Feb. 12, 2015
But whatever happens, you’ll 240 believe I’ve done my best, won’t you?–even if I’m not a– Promise me straight, you’ll lock up tight every night.”
From Into the Primitive by Bennett, Robert Ames
This series marks the Dodgers’ lone scheduled visit during the A’s three-year stay here.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
In the bottom of the inning, the A’s also bunched four hits, including a Colby Thomas home run, to take a 3-2 lead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
In the same way a dismal class performance on a business school exam will still yield some A’s, curves also apply in the stock market when a company’s results aren’t necessarily jumping off the page.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
He said of Complainant A's account of the incident, and an initial claim that Lady Donaldson witnessed it, that she "stuck it in reverse" while under cross examination.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
In fact, he had seldom received a mark lower than an A. In the seventh and eighth grades at St. Jude’s, he had received straight A's for two years except for a 5-plus one term.
From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier
As a result he, like Klinsmann, would urge the players in Sunday’s game to drink in the memories, because win or lose, if your name isn’t Messi the odds are great you’ll never be back.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
As one of the counties working with a smaller budget, it can be easy for Northamptonshire to slip under the radar.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
As a clinical psychiatrist, I often think about that experience when patients come to me asking about healthy aging.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
As their impatience grows, the window for Odysseus to reclaim his kingdom and restore a crumbling world to Zeus’ law — essentially open-hearted hospitality and treating others as you’d be treated — is closing.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
As the patient population grew, services and accommodations became even more inadequate.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Like other Romance languages, Spanish divides most endings of nouns into masculine o’s or feminine a’s.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 12, 2021
And then, every fourth January, we’re suddenly expected to say it, to spell it, to know where to place the u’s and a’s.
From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2017
As a foriner, ce hardest cing in English to lern is ce usage of ce's and a's.
From Time Magazine Archive
But there is no doubt who is the original source of the line, and his last name is spelled with two a's.
From Time Magazine Archive
Dr. Finch rolled out the last name in Maycomb County accents: long a’s, i s, and a pause between syllables.
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
Myers told the BBC: "Putting it backstage for someone to eat, as if that results in exposure, means nothing to anyone."
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
He framed the strikes as retaliation for Russian attacks on Ukraine’s postal and civilian infrastructure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
In two more tournaments as a player, he never got past the quarterfinals and in two World Cups as a manager he made the semifinals once.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
James Fuller ended with figures of 7-62 across eight overs on the day as the Steelbacks were dismissed in the final over.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
The soldier peers at her curiously as he moves closer.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
