ANS

American Name Society.

Nearby words

amytal, amythaon, amyxia, amyxorrhea, amūn, ANS, an apple a day, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, an arm and a leg, an army marches on its stomach, an eye for an eye

Definition for ans (2 of 3)

An

[ ahn ]

/ ɑn /

noun

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

Definition for ans (3 of 3)

ans.

answer.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ans

ANS researchers found that all off-site health consequences of the Fukushima Daiichi accident may ultimately be negligible.
Japanese Debris Plume From Tsunami Migrating Across Pacific Ocean|Daniel Stone|March 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Abandoning the project now, ANS officials note, would make all that spending a colossal waste.
Yucca Nuclear Site Returns|Daniel Stone|August 26, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Ans bashfully crept in beside the sleeping child, taking care not to waken her, and lay there thinking of his new responsibility.
A Little Norsk; Or, Ol' Pap's Flaxen|Hamlin Garland
It was then, and for the first time, that they heard the slow and groping utterance of Ans Handerson.
The Faith of Men|Jack London

Their fall released into German control the railway junction at Ans.
The Story of the Great War, Volume II (of VIII)|Various
Ans, we've got to send Flaxen back to St. Peter; she's so homesick she don't know what to do.
A Little Norsk; Or, Ol' Pap's Flaxen|Hamlin Garland
It was a custom with the I'ans, and a few other West Country families, to have their burials at night.
Traditions and Hearthside Stories of West Cornwall, Second Series|William Bottrell

British Dictionary definitions for ans (1 of 6)

An

/ (ɑːn) /

noun

myth the Sumerian sky godBabylonian counterpart: Anu

British Dictionary definitions for ans (2 of 6)

An

the chemical symbol for

actinon

British Dictionary definitions for ans (3 of 6)

AN

abbreviation for

Anglo-Norman

British Dictionary definitions for ans (4 of 6)

an

/ (æn, unstressed ən) /

determiner

a form of the indefinite article used before an initial vowel soundan old car; an elf; an honour

Word Origin for an

Old English ān one

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

British Dictionary definitions for ans (5 of 6)

an

an'

/ (æn, unstressed ən) /

conjunction

(subordinating) an obsolete or dialect word for if See and (def. 9)

British Dictionary definitions for ans (6 of 6)

an

the internet domain name for

Netherlands Antilles

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

Word Origin and History for ans

an

indefinite article before words beginning with vowels, 12c., from Old English an (with a long vowel) "one; lone," also used as a prefix an- "single, lone;" see one for the divergence of that word from this. Also see a, of which this is the older, fuller form.

In other European languages, identity between indefinite article and the word for "one" remains explicit (e.g. French un, German ein, etc.) Old English got by without indefinite articles: He was a good man in Old English was he wæs god man. Circa 15c., a and an commonly were written as one word with the following noun, which contributed to the confusion over how such words as newt and umpire ought to be divided (see N).

In Shakespeare, etc., an sometimes is a contraction of as if (a usage first attested c.1300), especially before it.