anagram

American  

[an-uh-gram] / ˈæn əˌgræm /

noun

1. a word, phrase, or sentence formed from another by rearranging its letters.

   “Angel” is an anagram of “glean.”

2. (used with a singular verb) anagrams, a game in which the players build words by transposing and, often, adding letters.

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verb (used with object)

anagrammed, anagramming

1. to form (the letters of a text) into a secret message by rearranging them.

2. to rearrange (the letters of a text) so as to discover a secret message.

anagram British  

/ ˈænəˌɡræm, ˌænəɡrəˈmætɪk /

noun

1. a word or phrase the letters of which can be rearranged into another word or phrase

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• anagrammatical
  adjective
• anagrammatic
  adjective
• anagrammatically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of anagram

First recorded in 1580–90; probably from Middle French anagramme, from New Latin anagramma; equivalent to ana- + -gram ¹

Explanation

An anagram is a word or phrase that's formed by rearranging the letters of another word or phrase. For example, the letters that make up “A decimal point” can be turned into the anagram “I’m a dot in place.” People mainly make anagrams just for fun, but sometimes they’re used as pseudonyms or codes. For example, the French writer Francois Rabelais published his controversial first book under Alcofribas Nasier, an anagram of his name. The most entertaining anagrams are the ones where the rearranged letters make some sort of comment on the original. “Dormitory” turns into the anagram “dirty room,” and “snooze alarms” can be rearranged into “Alas! No more Zs.”

Example Sentences

With the imminent publication of his final book titled "Magpie Murders," eagle-eyed readers would realize that unscrambling the first letters for each novel in the detective series would spell out "AN ANAGRAM."

From Salon • Nov. 21, 2022