anagram

[ an-uh-gram ]

/ ˈæn əˌgræm /

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noun

a word, phrase, or sentence formed from another by rearranging its letters: “Angel” is an anagram of “glean.”

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

verb (used with object), an·a·grammed, an·a·gram·ming.

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

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

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Origin of anagram

1580–90; probably <Middle French anagramme<New Latin anagramma.See ana-, -gram¹

OTHER WORDS FROM anagram

an·a·gram·mat·ic

[an-uh-gruh-mat-ik], /ˌæn ə grəˈmæt ɪk/, an·a·gram·mat·i·cal, adjectivean·a·gram·mat·i·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use anagram in a sentence

In his most recent novel, The Warsaw Anagrams, Richard Zimler takes on the story behind this disturbing, but seductive subject.
Must Read Novels|Lucy Scholes, John Wilwol, Randy Rosenthal, Nina MacLaughlin|August 4, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Upon opening The Warsaw Anagrams, I thought: why am I reading another Holocaust novel?
Must Read Novels|Lucy Scholes, John Wilwol, Randy Rosenthal, Nina MacLaughlin|August 4, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Some supposed allies advise he use anagrams, as they do, to keep his identity a secret.
Must Read Novels|Lucy Scholes, John Wilwol, Randy Rosenthal, Nina MacLaughlin|August 4, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Anagram′matism, the practice of making anagrams; Anagram′matist, a maker of anagrams.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)|Various

He danced well, drove four-in-hand, and was a very Œdipus in expounding anagrams and conundrums.
Discipline|Mary Brunton
The letters of each of the following anagrams may be transposed so as to spell the name of a well-known novel.
St. Nicholas v. 13 No. 9 July 1886|Various
George Herbert and others made anagrams, and verses shaped like an altar, a cross, or a pair of Easter wings.
From Chaucer to Tennyson|Henry A. Beers
I think he wrote these letters for fun, as some people make puzzles, anagrams, or limericks.
McClure's Magazine, Vol. XXXI, September 1908, No. 5|Various

British Dictionary definitions for anagram

anagram

/ (ˈænəˌɡræm) /

noun

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

Derived forms of anagram

anagrammatic (ˌænəɡrəˈmætɪk) or anagrammatical, adjectiveanagrammatically, adverb

Word Origin for anagram

C16: from New Latin anagramma, shortened from Greek anagrammatismos, from anagrammatizein to transpose letters, from ana- + gramma a letter

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

anagram

Origin of anagram

OTHER WORDS FROM anagram

Words related to anagram

How to use anagram in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for anagram

Derived forms of anagram

Word Origin for anagram