ampersand
Americannoun
-
ampersands
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ampersand
1820–30; contraction of and per se and literally, (the symbol) & by itself (stands for) and; see per se
Explanation
An ampersand is a shorthand symbol for "and." It looks like this: & . People often use an ampersand when they want to save space — like when they're writing on Twitter or trying to come up with a cool company logo. The symbol comes from ancient Roman times and can be seen in really old Pompeiian graffiti. The word ampersand is a mix of Latin and English and a condensed version of the phrase "and per se and," which means "(the character) '&' by itself is 'and'."
Vocabulary lists containing ampersand
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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:
The ampersand, meanwhile, evolved over time from a jagged bit of Roman graffiti into the curly charmer we know today.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Rebranded as Forterra in 2011, its logo includes an ampersand as the letter “e” — reflecting its added scope.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 11, 2022
Bethanne Patrick’s January picks cover train wrecks, political drama, enraging inequality, the complications of polyamory and the joy of the ampersand.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2022
There are also class and regional differences between the pair, and not since Barnes met Noble has the ampersand gotten such a workout, analyzing the miracle of their conjoining.
From New York Times ● Jan. 4, 2022
Z, and ampersand, Go to school at command.
From The Real Mother Goose by Blanche Fisher Wright
It’s both a hoot and a bit of a slog — a “Fast & Furious” movie, more or less, but with more ampersands and fewer series regulars than usual.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2019
Those little thought bubbles filled with ampersands and exclamation points and number signs.
From Slate ● Apr. 3, 2019
If you have a personal Wi-Fi network, make sure that you password-protect access, and use long passwords that include special characters, such as ampersands and exclamation marks.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 12, 2018
His handwriting was small, and he used ampersands and abbreviations.
From New York Times ● Feb. 5, 2015
She was at it all week for more than eight hours a day, until her back and neck ached, and ragged curls of unfurling ampersands swam across her vision.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
