alphabet
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 system of characters or signs used to represent 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 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.
Origin of alphabet
1Other words from alphabet
- pre·al·pha·bet, adjective, noun
Words Nearby alphabet
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
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 PostAfter 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 | NautilusThey 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-ScienceThere 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 ReviewIf 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 | THE DAILY BEASTBest 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 | THE DAILY BEASTTo 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 | THE DAILY BEASTHe 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 | THE DAILY BEASTWhen 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 | THE DAILY BEASTNo 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 SwiftIf 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; | VariousWhatever 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
/ (ˈælfəˌbɛt) /
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
Origin of alphabet
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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