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.
Even before the latest round of tariffs, Canada’s central bank projected in January that growth would be about 1.5 percentage points lower this year versus a pre-tariff forecast, leaving projected growth at just 1.1%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Greer’s office is also overseeing a high-stakes renegotiation of the USMCA, its largest trade deal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
The victim was Hugging Face, a provider of open-source AI tools.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
It found a way to get online, and then hacked into Hugging Face’s network, OpenAI said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
“She was instrumental in saving the lives of many Americans and Filipinos. By her outstanding courage and bravery, Mrs. Guerrero made a distinct contribution to the cause of freedom,” Representative Morrison states.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
A number of media companies are re-evaluating their relationships with Google as AI search reduces web traffic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
A humanitarian worker in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been medically evacuated to the UK after a potential healthcare‑related exposure to Ebola.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
A growing crop of tech startups is now attempting to bring structure to the unregulated sector that employs some 30 million people, while allowing both workers and customers more flexibility.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
A record level of private-equity investments are stuck in funds limping along past their intended lifespans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
A wagon train of hopeful people journeys on toward the river.
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
High-resolution powder diffraction data were collected at beamline 17-BM of the Advanced Photon Source with a monochromatic beam of 0.72768 Å at Argonne National Laboratory.
From Nature ● Mar. 14, 2017
Here we present the 3.7 Å resolution cryo-electron microscopy structure of ZIKV, and show that the overall architecture of the virus is similar to that of other flaviviruses.
From Nature ● Apr. 18, 2016
Some songs—such as “A Guid New Year to ane a’ A’”—were widely recognized.
From National Geographic ● Dec. 27, 2023
The Scottish government agreed with a recommendation by Sepa which allows Scottish Water to increase abstraction levels from the Allt a' Mhuilinn burn.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 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
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
If yer want ter be ’ere, yo’ll non want me messin’ abaht a’ th’ time.”
From "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Author
And, uh, you know, it's just a- a very bad situation.
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
You wouldn’t ha’ believed in them first days of April that trouble was a- brewin’ fer all of us—ever’ one was feelin’ good, and we was gettin’ along so fine.”
From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt
Kroger had proposed selling more than 400 stores to address monopoly concerns -a collection of sitesthe FTC criticised as a "hodgepodge" that did not adequately address concerns.
From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2024
I don't think the "-e" should eliminate the existing "-o" and the "-a."
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2022
He needs to grow up or get out -a cancer in the locker room.
From New York Times ● Jan. 9, 2017
Hanks' character -a boy in an adult body - ends up working for a toy company headed by Loggia.
From Reuters ● Dec. 4, 2015
‘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
“Michael” earned an A- grade from opening-night audiences, according to market-research firm CinemaScore.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
A recent report card from Children Now, a nonprofit advocacy group, rated California a D on children’s access to preventive care, despite the state’s A- grade for ensuring children have coverage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 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
In 1926 it was decided to build A- and B-blocks on the hill, and in 1929 they were completed, along with the chapel and mess hall.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
You may notice that the graphs in parts a. and b. are identical.
From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016
Evaluate a. and b. for t = 2, 4, and 6 seconds.
From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016
For the following exercises, a. find the inverse function, and b. find the domain and range of the inverse function.
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
“You’re so. You’re just a. Person. You know. Heyl Alfhercht! Your boots are. Boots.”
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Ms. Millard, a writer of narrative histories including 2011’s “Destiny of the Republic,” about the assassination of James A. Garfield, vividly evokes the Brazilian rainforest and its dangers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
Prosecutors say Twana H. S. and Asia R. A. were married there according to Islamic law and became members of Islamic State between October 2015 and December 2017.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Dan Greenberg, a senior legal fellow at the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, had similar skepticism about how courts might act, citing Turner v.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 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
Mr. A. H— stands in a shadowy corner, and even with the distance and the shadows Tara can tell that he is arguing with someone she cannot see.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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
The Dodgers pushed back Ohtani’s start this week from Wednesday against the A’s to Friday against a division rival.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
The A’s plan to move into a new ballpark in Las Vegas in 2028, the next time the teams are scheduled to face off.
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
Today their outstanding performance is lost in a sea of A’s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
My high school offered a creative writing course, but in order to get in you had to have straight A's in eleventh-grade English.
From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos
As part of soft skills training, they are taught how to tie their hair neatly and greet customers.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
As a result, researchers may struggle to determine which connections truly existed during infection.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
As part of the plea agreement, Valdovinos Ramirez will pay a fine of $50,000 before he is sentenced on Sept. 21, as well as $310,000 in restitution.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
As the VAT announcement will save households about £45 a year, "the fear of juggling budgets that simply don't balance remains", says Juliette Flachm, Acting Head of Policy and Public Affair.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
As a result, it is the only predominantly Christian country in Asia.
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
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
As a foriner, ce hardest cing in English to lern is ce usage of ce's and a's.
From Time Magazine Archive
“He spells it with one a. The two a’s seem a little fancy to his friends.”
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Appeared in the July 22, 2026, print edition as 'President Prepares New Tack In Tariff Campaign'.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Reuters, which like Politico derives much of its revenue from business-to-business offerings, said it is also weighing whether to block Google’s bot for its consumer-facing news product as traffic declines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Appeared in the July 22, 2026, print edition as 'OpenAI Models Escaped, Hacked a Company'.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
The researchers also propose that heavy noble gases in lunar soil could act as "fossil records" of earlier interactions between the solar wind and Earth's magnetosphere.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
She puts one foot in front of the other, as she always does, ready to walk that path.
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.
