alphabet

[ al-fuh-bet, -bit ]

/ ˈæl fəˌbɛt, -bɪt /

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noun

the letters of a language in their customary order.

any system of characters or signs with which a language is written: the Greek alphabet.

any such system for representing the sounds of a language: the phonetic alphabet.

first elements; basic facts; simplest rudiments: the alphabet of genetics.

the alphabet, a system of writing, developed in the ancient Near East and transmitted from the northwest Semites to the Greeks, in which each symbol ideally represents one sound unit in the spoken language, and from which most alphabetical scripts are derived.

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Origin of alphabet

1375–1425; late Middle English alphabete<Late Latin alphabētum, alteration of Greek alphábētos.See alpha, beta

OTHER WORDS FROM alphabet

pre·al·pha·bet, adjective, noun

Words nearby alphabet

alpha-adrenergic receptor, alpha-amino acid, alpha-aminosuccinic acid, alpha and omega, alpha angle, alphabet, alpha-beta brass, alphabet code, alphabetical, alphabetize, alphabet soup

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use alphabet in a sentence

Behind the keys was a lamp board showing the letters of the alphabet.
Hackers thrive on the weak link in cybersecurity: People|Gershom Gorenberg|February 1, 2021|Washington Post
After a few centuries of remaining at the margins, the alphabet from the Sinai swept through Europe and much of Asia and Africa, changing into the dizzying range we have today.
Reading, That Strange and Uniquely Human Thing - Issue 94: Evolving|Lydia Wilson|December 23, 2020|Nautilus
They come in a million different colors and patterns including the alphabet, daisies, retro cars, and more.
Silicone bibs to keep food off your baby and time on your side|PopSci Commerce Team|October 6, 2020|Popular-Science
There are 64 codons that can be spelled with the genetic alphabet, but only 20 amino acids to make.
Synthetic biologists have created a slow-growing version of the coronavirus to give as a vaccine|David Rotman|September 16, 2020|MIT Technology Review

If genetic sequencing is the new language for managing infectious-disease outbreaks, then the mutations that viruses generate are its alphabet.
Inside the Global Quest to Trace the Origins of COVID-19—and Predict Where It Will Go Next|Alice Park|July 23, 2020|Time
“It sometimes seems like we have more contingency plans than there are letters in the alphabet,” he claims.
Lost Ocean Rover Leaves Gap in Biology and Alzheimer's Research|Beenish Ahmed|June 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Best Moment: "I heard your last name was even longer but you ate all the other letters of the alphabet."
Justin Bieber, Jon Hamm & the Best of 'Between Two Ferns' (VIDEO)|Anna Klassen|September 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
To the left was West Pakistan, where they ruled, and spoke Urdu, and wrote in an alphabet that flowed like water under wind.
Bangladesh’s Midnight Children: Philip Hensher’s ‘Scenes From Early Life’|Lucy Scholes|January 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He falls in love with a girl named Zoe, who “seemed to come from that foreign end of the alphabet.”
The New Wallace Stegner: Ivan Doig’s ‘The Bartender’s Tale’|Malcolm Forbes|August 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
When Sendak made an alphabet book, he called it Alligators All Around.
Maurice Sendak Knew Enough to Put the Bite Back in Children’s Stories|Andrew Romano|May 8, 2012|DAILY BEAST
No law of that country must exceed in words the number of letters in their alphabet, which consists only in two-and-twenty.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
If a husband were to see his wife drowning, what single letter of the alphabet would he name?
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;|Various
Whatever figure alphabet, however, is used, the main thing about it is to master it thoroughly.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
If the pupil has mastered the Figure Alphabet he will proceed with the greatest satisfaction and profit.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
For convenience of reference I now give the figure Alphabet tabulated.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)

British Dictionary definitions for alphabet

alphabet

/ (ˈælfəˌbɛt) /

noun

a set of letters or other signs used in a writing system, usually arranged in a fixed order, each letter or sign being used to represent one or sometimes more than one phoneme in the language being transcribed

any set of symbols or characters, esp one representing sounds of speech

basic principles or rudiments, as of a subject

Word Origin for alphabet

C15: from Late Latin alphabētum, from Greek alphabētos, from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet; see alpha, beta

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

alphabet

Origin of alphabet

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How to use alphabet in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for alphabet

Word Origin for alphabet