alphabet

American  

[al-fuh-bet, -bit] / ˈæl fəˌbɛt, -bɪt /

noun

1. the letters of a language in their customary order.

2. any system of characters or signs with which a language is written.

   the Greek alphabet.

3. any system of characters or signs used to represent the sounds of a language.

   the phonetic alphabet.

4. first elements; basic facts; simplest rudiments.

   the alphabet of genetics.

5. the alphabet, a system of writing, developed in the ancient Middle 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 alphabetic scripts are derived.

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alphabet British  

/ ˈælfəˌbɛt /

noun

1. 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

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

3. basic principles or rudiments, as of a subject

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Other Word Forms

• prealphabet adjective

Etymology

Origin of alphabet

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English alphabete from Late Latin alphabētum, alteration of Greek alphábētos; alpha, beta

Example Sentences

The list of storm names covers only 21 letters of the alphabet, to maintain consistency with World Meteorological Organisation naming convention of tropical cyclones around the world.

From BBC

And with the sad recent death of Fuzzy Zoeller, Will Zalatoris must carry the banner at the end of the alphabet.

From BBC

The utter subservience of American pop culture to baby boomers over the past 50-odd years has engendered justifiable resentment among members of the subsequent alphabet generations.

From The Wall Street Journal

It can be an alphabet soup of certifications under a professional’s name, but some of the more well-known certifications for a financial adviser include the Certified Financial Planner designation and the Chartered Financial Consultant designation.

From MarketWatch

“It could be a whole alphabet soup of different things. With all the agriculture in this area, industry, automobiles, wood smoke, there’s a whole bunch” of contenders, Weiss-Penzias said.

From Los Angeles Times