an

¹ American  

[uhn, an] / ən, æn /

indefinite article

1. the form of a before an initial vowel sound (an arch; an honor ) and sometimes, especially in British English, before an initial unstressed syllable beginning with a silent or weakly pronounced h .

   an historian.

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an ² American  

[uhn, an] / ən, æn /

Also an',

conjunction

1. Informal. and.

2. Archaic. if.

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An ³ American  

[ahn] / ɑn /

noun

1. the Sumerian god of heaven: the counterpart of the Akkadian Anu.

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An ⁴ American  

Symbol, Chemistry.

1. actinon.

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AN ⁵ American  

Or A.-N.

abbreviation

1. Anglo-Norman.

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an- ⁶ American  

1. a prefix occurring before stems beginning with a vowel or h in loanwords from Greek, where it means “not,” “without,” “lacking” (anarchy; anecdote ); used in the formation of compound words.

   anelectric.

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an- ⁷ American  

1. variant of ad- before n: announce.

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an- ⁸ American  

1. variant of ana- before a vowel.

   anion.

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-an ⁹ American  

1. a suffix occurring originally in adjectives borrowed from Latin, formed from nouns denoting places (Roman; urban ) or persons (Augustan ), and now productively forming English adjectives by extension of the Latin pattern. Attached to geographic names, it denotes provenance or membership (American; Chicagoan; Tibetan ), the latter sense now extended to membership in social classes, religious denominations, etc., in adjectives formed from various kinds of noun bases (Episcopalian; pedestrian; Puritan; Republican ) and membership in zoological taxa (acanthocephalan; crustacean ). Attached to personal names, it has the additional senses “contemporary with” (Elizabethan; Jacobean ) or “proponent of ” (Hegelian; Freudian ) the person specified by the noun base. The suffix -an, and its variant -ian also occurs in a set of personal nouns, mainly loanwords from French, denoting one who engages in, practices, or works with the referent of the base noun (comedian; grammarian; historian; theologian ); this usage is especially productive with nouns ending in -ic (electrician; logician; technician ). See -ian for relative distribution with that suffix.

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an. ¹⁰ American  

abbreviation

1. in the year.

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A.N. ¹¹ American  

abbreviation

1. Anglo-Norman.

2. Associate in Nursing.

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-an ¹ British  

suffix

1. (forming adjectives and nouns) belonging to or relating to; a person belonging to or coming from

   European

2. (forming adjectives and nouns) typical of or resembling; a person typical of

   Elizabethan

3. (forming adjectives and nouns) adhering to or following; an adherent of

   Christian

4. (forming nouns) a person who specializes or is expert in

   dietitian

   phonetician

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An ² British  

/ ɑːn /

noun

1. Babylonian counterpart: Anu.  myth the Sumerian sky god

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An ³ British  

symbol

1. actinon

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AN ⁴ British  

abbreviation

1. Anglo-Norman

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an ⁵ British  

/ æn, ən /

determiner

1. a form of the indefinite article used before an initial vowel sound

   an old car

   an elf

   an honour

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an ⁶ British  

/ æn, ən /

conjunction

1. (subordinating) an obsolete or dialect word for if See and

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an ⁷ British  

abbreviation

1. Netherlands Antilles

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an- ⁸ British  

prefix

1. not; without

   anaphrodisiac

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Grammar

See a ¹.

Usage

An was formerly often used before words that begin with h and are unstressed on the first syllable: an hotel ; an historic meeting . Sometimes the initial h was not pronounced. This usage is now becoming obsolete

Etymology

Origin of an¹

before 950; Middle English; Old English ān one in a weakened sense

Origin of an²

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English, unstressed phonetic variant of and

Origin of an-⁶

< Greek. See a- ⁶, in- ³, un- ¹

Origin of -an⁹

Middle English < Latin -ānus, -āna, -ānum; in some words replacing -ain, -en < Old French < Latin

Origin of an.¹⁰

From the Latin word annō

Example Sentences

Lord Reid has previously attributed the four-word phrase to an unnamed senior civil servant.

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026

In 2020, Hamza Lemssouguer received an offer to manage several billion dollars for hedge-fund titan Ken Griffin, the founder of Citadel.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

Video footage posted by the nonprofit shows a closeup of the cracked shell in the nest as winds blow and an eagle stands guard.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

Americans say they expect to need an average of $1.46 million to retire on their own terms, up $200,000 from a year ago, according to a new survey from Northwestern Mutual.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

She looked back down at her bowl and turned off the water, then snuck another look at Bernadette, who raised an eyebrow.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith