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  • a
    a
    indefinite article
    not any particular or certain one of a class or group.
  • A
    A
    noun
    the first letter of the English alphabet, a vowel.
  • Å
    Å
    angstrom.
  • a'
    a'
    adjective
    all.
  • a-
    a-
    a reduced form of the Old English preposition on, meaning “on,” “in,” “into,” “to,” “toward,” preserved before a noun in a prepositional phrase, forming a predicate adjective or an adverbial element (afoot; abed; ashore; aside; away ), or before an adjective (afar; aloud; alow ), as a moribund prefix with a verb (acknowledge ), and in archaic and dialectal use before a present participle in -ing (set the bells aringing ); and added to a verb stem with the force of a present participle (ablaze; agape; aglow; astride; and originally,awry ).
  • -a
    -a
    a plural ending of nouns borrowed from Greek and Latin.
  • A-
    A-
    atomic (used in combination).
  • a.
    a.
    abbreviation
    year.
  • A.
    A.
    abbreviation
    year.
  • a–
    a–
    A prefix meaning “without” or “not” when forming an adjective (such as amorphous, without form, or atypical, not typical), and “absence of” when forming a noun (such as arrhythmia, absence of rhythm). Before a vowel or h it becomes an– (as in anhydrous, anoxia).
Synonyms

a

1 American  
[uh, ay] / ə, eɪ /

indefinite article

  1. not any particular or certain one of a class or group.

    a man; a chemical; a house.

  2. a certain; a particular.

    one at a time; two of a kind; A Miss Johnson called.

  3. another; one typically resembling.

    a Cicero in eloquence; a Jonah.

  4. 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 ).

  5. indefinitely or nonspecifically (used with adjectives expressing number).

    a great many years; a few stars.

  6. one (used before a noun expressing quantity).

    a yard of ribbon; a score of times.

  7. any; a single.

    not a one.


a 2 American  
[uh, ay] / ə, eɪ /

preposition

  1. each; every; per.

    ten cents a sheet; three times a day.


a 3 American  
[uh] / ə /

preposition

  1. Informal. a reduced, unstressed form of of (often written as part of a single, unhyphenated word).

    cloth a gold; time a day; kinda; sorta.


a 4 American  
[uh] / ə /

auxiliary verb

Informal.
  1. a reduced, unstressed form of auxiliary have following some modals, as might, should, could, would, and must (usually written as part of a single, unhyphenated word).

    We shoulda gone.


a 5 American  
[uh, a, ah] / ə, æ, ɑ /

pronoun

British Dialect.
  1. he.

  2. she.

  3. it.

  4. they.

  5. I.


a 6 American  

abbreviation

Measurements.
  1. are; ares.


A 7 American  
[ay] / eɪ /
Or a

noun

  • A's,
    plural
  • As,
    plural
  • a's,
    plural
  • as
    plural
  1. the first letter of the English alphabet, a vowel.

  2. any spoken sound represented by the letter A or a, as in bake, hat, father, or small.

  3. something having the shape of an A .

  4. a written or printed representation of the letter A or a.

  5. a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter A or a.


idioms

  1. not know from A to B, to know nothing; be ignorant.

  2. from A to Z, from beginning to end; thoroughly; completely.

    He knows the Bible from A to Z.

A 8 American  

abbreviation

  1. Electricity. ampere; amperes.

  2. Physics. angstrom; angstroms.

  3. answer.

  4. British. arterial (used with a road number to designate a major highway).

    Take the A525 to Ruthin.


A 9 American  
Symbol.
  1. the first in order or in a series.

  2. Sometimes a

    1. (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.

    2. (in some school systems) a symbol designating the first semester of a school year.

  3. Music.

    1. the sixth tone in the scale of C major or the first tone in the relative minor scale, A minor.

    2. a string, key, or pipe tuned to this tone.

    3. a written or printed note representing this tone.

    4. (in the fixed system of solmization) the sixth tone of the scale of C major, called la.

    5. the tonality having A as the tonic note.

  4. 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.

  5. Sometimes a the medieval Roman numeral for 50 or 500.

  6. Chemistry. (formerly) argon.

  7. Chemistry, Physics. mass number.

  8. Biochemistry.

    1. adenine.

    2. alanine

  9. Logic. Also a universal affirmative.

  10. British. a designation for a motion picture recommended as suitable for adults.

  11. a proportional shoe width size, narrower than B and wider than AA.

  12. a proportional brassiere cup size, smaller than B and larger than AA.

  13. a quality rating for a corporate or municipal bond, lower than AA and higher than BBB.


Å 10 American  
Symbol, Physics.
  1. angstrom.


a' 11 American  
[ah, aw] / ɑ, ɔ /
Or a

adjective

Scots
  1. all.

    for a' that.


a- 12 American  
  1. a reduced form of the Old English preposition on, meaning “on,” “in,” “into,” “to,” “toward,” preserved before a noun in a prepositional phrase, forming a predicate adjective or an adverbial element (afoot; abed; ashore; aside; away ), or before an adjective (afar; aloud; alow ), as a moribund prefix with a verb (acknowledge ), and in archaic and dialectal use before a present participle in -ing (set the bells aringing ); and added to a verb stem with the force of a present participle (ablaze; agape; aglow; astride; and originally,awry ).


a- 13 American  
  1. a reduced form of the Old English preposition of: akin; afresh; anew.


a- 14 American  
  1. an old point-action prefix, not referring to an act as a whole, but only to the beginning or end: She arose (rose up). They abided by their beliefs (remained faithful to the end).


a- 15 American  
  1. variant of ab- before p and v: aperient; avert.


a- 16 American  
  1. variant of ad-, used: (1) before sc, sp, st (ascend ) and (2) in words of French derivation (often with the sense of increase, addition).

    amass.


a- 17 American  
  1. variant of an- before a consonant, meaning “not,” “without”.

    amoral; atonal; achromatic.


-a 18 American  
  1. a plural ending of nouns borrowed from Greek and Latin.

    phenomena; criteria; data; errata; genera.


-a 19 American  
  1. a feminine singular ending of nouns borrowed from Latin and Greek, also used in New Latin coinages to Latinize bases of any origin, and as a Latin substitute for the feminine ending - ē of Greek words: cinchona;

    anabaena;

    cinchona;

    pachysandra.


-a 20 American  
  1. an ending of personal names forming feminines from masculines.

    Georgia; Roberta.


-a 21 American  
  1. a suffix designating the oxide of the chemical element denoted by the stem.

    alumina; ceria; thoria.


A- 22 American  
  1. atomic (used in combination).

    A-bomb; A-plant.


a. 23 American  

abbreviation

  1. year.


a. 24 American  

abbreviation

  1. before.


a. 25 American  

abbreviation

  1. about.

  2. acre; acres.

  3. active.

  4. adjective.

  5. alto.

  6. ampere; amperes.

  7. anonymous.

  8. answer.

  9. are; ares.

  10. Baseball. assist; assists.


A. 26 American  

abbreviation

  1. year.


A. 27 American  

abbreviation

  1. before.


A. 28 American  

abbreviation

  1. Absolute.

  2. Academy.

  3. acre; acres.

  4. America.

  5. American.

  6. angstrom.

  7. answer.

  8. April.

  9. Artillery.


A 1 British  

symbol

  1. music

    1. 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

    2. a key, string, or pipe producing this note

    3. the major or minor key having this note as its tonic

  2. a human blood type of the ABO group, containing the A antigen

  3. (in Britain) a major arterial road

    the A3 runs from London to Portsmouth

    1. a film certified for viewing by anyone, but which contains material that some parents may not wish their children to see

    2. ( as modifier )

      an A film

  4. mass number

  5. the number 10 in hexadecimal notation

  6. cards ace

  7. chem argon (now superseded by Ar )

  8. ampere(s)

  9. Also: at. ampere-turn

  10. absolute (temperature)

  11. (in circuit diagrams) ammeter

  12. area

  13. (in combination) atomic

    an A-bomb

    an A-plant

  14. chem affinity

  15. biochem adenine

  16. logic a universal affirmative categorical proposition, such as all men are mortal: often symbolized as SaP Compare E I 2 O 1

    1. a person whose job is in top management, or who holds a senior administrative or professional position

    2. ( as modifier ) See also occupation groupings

      an A worker

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

abbreviation

  1. Austria (international car registration)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
a 2 British  
/ ə, eɪ /

determiner

  1. used preceding a singular countable noun, if the noun is not previously specified or known

    a dog

    a terrible disappointment

  2. 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

  3. used preceding a noun or determiner of quantity

    a cupful

    a dozen eggs

    a great many

    to read a lot

  4. used preceding a noun indicating a concrete or abstract thing capable of being divided

    half a loaf

    a quarter of a minute

  5. each or every; per

    once a day

    fifty pence a pound

  6. a certain; one

    to change policy at a stroke

    a Mr Jones called

  7. (preceded by not) any at all

    not a hope

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

a 3 British  

symbol

  1. acceleration

  2. are(s) (metric measure of land)

  3. atto-

  4. chess See algebraic notation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

a 4 British  
/ eɪ /

noun

  1. the first letter and first vowel of the modern English alphabet

  2. any of several speech sounds represented by this letter, in English as in take, bag, calm, shortage, or cobra

  3. Also called: alpha. the first in a series, esp the highest grade or mark, as in an examination

  4. from start to finish, thoroughly and in detail

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

A. 5 British  

abbreviation

  1. acre(s) or acreage

  2. America(n)

  3. answer

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

a- 6 British  

prefix

  1. on; in; towards

    afoot

    abed

    aground

    aback

  2. literary (used before a present participle) in the act or process of

    come a-running

    go a-hunting

  3. in the condition or state of

    afloat

    alive

    asleep

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Å 7 British  

symbol

  1. angstrom unit

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

a- 8 British  

prefix

  1. not; without; opposite to

    atonal

    asocial

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

a 9 British  
/ ə /

verb

  1. an informal or dialect word for have

    they'd a said if they'd known

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

a 10 British  
/ ə /

preposition

  1. (usually linked to the preceding noun) an informal form of of

    sorta sad

    a kinda waste

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

a' 11 British  
/ ɔː /

determiner

  1. variants of all

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

A 1 Scientific  
  1. Abbreviation of adenine, ampere, angstrom, area


Å 2 Scientific  
  1. Abbreviation of angstrom


a– 3 Scientific  
  1. A prefix meaning “without” or “not” when forming an adjective (such as amorphous, without form, or atypical, not typical), and “absence of” when forming a noun (such as arrhythmia, absence of rhythm). Before a vowel or h it becomes an– (as in anhydrous, anoxia).


Grammar

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.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of a1

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English; originally preconsonantal phonetic variant of an 1

Origin of a2

Originally Middle English a, preconsonantal variant of on ( a- 1 ); confused with a 1

Origin of a3

Middle English; unstressed preconsonantal variant of of 1

Origin of a4

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English; a phonetic variant of have

Origin of a5

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English a, ha

Origin of a-12

Middle English, late Old English; cf. a 2, nowadays

Origin of a-13

Middle English; see a 3

Origin of a-14

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

Origin of a-15

Middle English < Latin ā-, a- (variant of ab- ab- ); in some words < French a- < Latin ab-, as in abridge

Origin of a-16

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

Origin of -a20

From Latin feminine ending -a, as Claudia, feminine of Claudius; see -a 2

Origin of -a21

Probably generalized from the -a of magnesia

Origin of a.23

< Latin annō, ablative of annus

Origin of a.24

From the Latin word ante

Origin of A.26

< Latin annō, ablative of annus

Origin of A.27

From the Latin word ante


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:

They said they believed that a safe, secure and sustainable home should include access to the basic furniture necessary for everyday living.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

They have called for independent rural-needs and equality assessments, as well as a cross-departmental ministerial working group on rural health access.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

It is not a problem confined to one area.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

"We lived a quiet normal life, fasting for a few days then having a small meal," Shukrani said.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

But for now, she is just a little girl with a big imagination, stepping through the grass in the hot, humid air.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

A year and a half later, Brian said he was still unable to work and receives little support.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

A public-benefit corporation’s mission can slip if the board loses focus, said Dammann, who has studied them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

A government spokesperson said it is "working to implement measures... to raise standards and drive out the minority of poor providers taking advantage of the Housing Benefit system".

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

A lengthy work-from-home period allowed conflicts to fester.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

A small series of beeps comes from Paul’s watch.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

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

At the first epoch, all deviations from the blackbody spectrum are below about 10% in the range 3,500 Å–20,000 Å, indicating that the fit is very satisfactory.

From Nature ● Oct. 15, 2017

Two or more such β-sheets lie in parallel, 6–12 Å apart.

From Nature ● Nov. 8, 2016

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

This masterpiece presents a dachshund with multiple paws a’ flapping looking somewhat between a well-oiled machine and progress itself, as it purposefully walks down the street.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 14, 2018

Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are a’ Changin’” is “a little bit sad and I think it’s about friends,” he wrote.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 8, 2016

“A dangerous business, that. Some holes are better left undug. Unless you already know what’s buried, a’ course.”

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood

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

The thin wooden door split with a- thunderous ciack beneath the heel of Shagga's boot.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

Usually words ending in "-o" are masculine and those ending in "-a" are feminine, but there are many common words that break those gender rules, like "la mano," the word for "hand."

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

One of those is Zhima Credit – -a private credit-scoring system that rates the trustworthiness and creditworthiness of its users based on data such as whether users pay their bills on time via Alipay.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 27, 2020

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

California currently has an S&P general obligation rating of AA-, and no state has a rating below A-.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

"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

“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

I charged a dollar per assignment and guaranteed at least an A- or the customer was entitled to a full refund.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

Using a. and b. is the train speeding up or slowing down?

From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016

In a similar fashion to a., we can approach the origin along any straight line passing through the origin.

From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016

From part a. we see that receiving $1.5 million dollars over the course of 20 years is worth $18.693 million dollars in today’s dollars.

From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016

Determine the equation and sketch the trace of the ring torus from a. on the xy-plane.

From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016

That means tonight's high tide will come at 3:45 a. m.—we'll need to start searching soon!

From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins

During a hearing, Judge Joseph A. Montano granted Busfield’s motion to dismiss his indictment, citing prosecutorial misconduct and errors that undermined the grand jury process.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

“Every child deserves to feel safe and never be victimized by someone they trust,” said Robert A. Eikhoff, special agent in charge of the FBI Jackson Field Office in Mississippi.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

Investors are mainly in a wait-and-see mode ahead of major U.S. bank earnings and inflation data this week, says Peter A. Grant, vice president and senior metals strategist at Zaner Metals in a note.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

The film triumphed despite poor reviews and audience reception, according to analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

A. To create her magnificent new book, Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium, Maria took elements from the studies she painted in Surinam and produced complex full-page designs in watercolors.

From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman

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 Robert Ames Bennett

Sixty percent of grades at Harvard College were A’s in the 2024-25 academic year, up from 24% in 2005-06.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Other parents’ choices didn’t cause Najya’s teachers to leave assignments uncorrected, lower expectations, or award A’s for below-grade work.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

“All achievements — straight A’s at the time — anything that could be rewarded was pooled to funds,” he said, reclining on a patio chair in the shade at Chargers headquarters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

After all, he already had a job waiting for him even without straight A’s.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

“Getting straight A’s in this school, ain’t like getting A’s in our old school. You sweat to get these A’s. Gotta half die to keep ’em.”

From "The Skin I'm In" by Sharon G. Flake

As long as there are holidays and unhappy American families, the country’s stages will never be empty.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

As the emotional storms begin to break out, it’s easy to sympathize with Trip, whose exasperation Mr. Keery captures with dynamic energy and bruising humor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

As Celtic unloaded on Hearts at Celtic Park it was football's equivalent of Thunder's devastation; speed and accuracy and ruthlessness in the face of a challenger akin to a rabbit caught in the headlights.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

As a result, hundreds of women were affected, and many were compelled to resign.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026

As soon as she was ready, Maggie drug her out to stand in front of another Osage family’s cornfield so she could shoot a few portraits.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

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

The U.A.W. also objects to Hon a's habit of calling its employees "associates," complaining that this is intended to blur labor-management distinctions in the workers' minds.

From Time Magazine Archive

His accent, a resonant blend of broad a's, clipped consonants and superbly rounded r's, is the same accent he used for credit in Manhattan speakeasies 20 years ago.

From Time Magazine Archive

He turned red, thinking of his trouble with long a’s, th’s, l’s, consonants at the ends of words.

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

In their letter, the campaigners said that past healthcare decisions have been framed as "purely operational or clinical, with too little cross-departmental scrutiny".

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

She doesn’t disappoint: As Polly presides over a fractious Christmas gathering, she deftly slashes to ribbons her lovably flawed loved ones even as she flashes a mile-wide grin.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

Alysha said it is "shameful that people are being paid so much money. There's a lot of people who are vulnerable and in need. I'm going to class it as neglect."

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

Panorama has also been repeatedly told about "ghost tenants" - individuals listed as residents but not actually living in properties, for whom managing agents still claim housing benefit.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

Because Russia—then known as the Soviet Union—was a Communist nation, propaganda in the United States focused on anti-Communist messaging.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

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