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  • ba
    ba
    noun
    an aspect of the soul, represented as a human-headed bird.
  • bā
    bā
    noun
    the second letter of the Arabic alphabet.
  • Ba
    Ba
    barium.
  • BA
    BA
    abbreviation
  • ba.
    ba.
    abbreviation
    bath.
  • B.A.
    B.A.
    abbreviation
    Bachelor of Arts.
  • ba'
    ba'
    noun
    a game somewhat like rugby played in Orkney at Christmas and New Year between two very large teams of players
Synonyms

ba

1 American  
[bah] / bɑ /

noun

Egyptian Religion.
  1. an aspect of the soul, represented as a human-headed bird.


bā 2 American  
[bah] / bɑ /

noun

  1. the second letter of the Arabic alphabet.


Ba 3 American  
Symbol, Chemistry.
  1. barium.


BA 4 American  

abbreviation

  1. banker's acceptance.


ba. 5 American  

abbreviation

  1. bath.

  2. bathroom.


B.A. 6 American  

abbreviation

  1. Bachelor of Arts.


B.A. 7 American  

abbreviation

  1. bastard amber.

  2. batting average.

  3. British Academy.

  4. British America.

  5. British Association (for Advancement of Science).

  6. Buenos Aires.


BA 1 British  

abbreviation

  1. Bachelor of Arts

  2. British Academy

  3. British Airways

  4. British Association (for the Advancement of Science)

  5. British Association screw thread

"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

ba' 2 British  
/ bɑː, bɔː /

noun

  1. a game somewhat like rugby played in Orkney at Christmas and New Year between two very large teams of players

  2. a similar game played at Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders in mid-February

  3. the stuffed leather ball used in these games

"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

Ba 3 British  
/ bɑː /

noun

  1. Egyptian myth the soul, represented as a bird with a human head

"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

Ba 4 British  

symbol

  1. barium

"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

ba 5 British  

abbreviation

  1. Bosnia-Herzegovina

"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

Etymology

Origin of ba1

Vocalization of Egyptian bʾ

Origin of B.A.6

First recorded in 1755–65, B.A. is from New Latin Baccalaureus Artium


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:

And then, just to say, “in Episode 2, ba ba ba ba ba,” Episode 3 ... and all of the other five episodes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2024

Because stop sounds, along with vowels, are the earliest and most frequent sounds babies tend to babble – which means "pa," "ta," "ba" and "da" are all early infant vocalizations.

From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2022

You know, “Under Pressure”? Mmm num ba de … dum bum ba be … doo buh dum ba beh beh …

From Slate ● Oct. 2, 2019

KABUL, Afghanistan — The longtime motto of the American-led mission in Afghanistan that it stands “shona ba shona,” or shoulder to shoulder, with its Afghan ally no longer applies to that ally’s national security adviser.

From New York Times ● Mar. 30, 2019

“Nothing to be done about it. We must wait until your ba comes home.”

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Bay, bā, adj. reddish brown inclining to chestnut.—n. elliptical for 'bay-horse.'—n.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

Bay, bā, n. an inlet of the sea with a wider opening than a gulf: an inward bend of the shore.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

I met the one who had said sarishān bā again, soon after. 

From The Gypsies by Charles Godfrey Leland

Bey, bā, n. a Turkish governor of a town or province.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

Then add the consonants: bā , bay, bee, cā , cay, etc., etc.

From Papers on Health by Edward Bruce Kirk

At 18, Senegalese defender Mor Talla Ndiaye has already been on the bench for Liverpool after arriving from Amitie, owned by ex-Newcastle and Chelsea striker Demba Ba.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

Other students he has mentored include Jimmy Ba, co-founder of Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture xAI, and Devendra Chaplot, a founding team member of Mistral AI and Thinking Machines Lab.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

But they also encounter an authoritarian society, Ba Sing Se, where a shadow government maintains control over its population by censoring free expression.

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026

Ba, a prominent AI researcher, played a central role in the development of Grok chatbot models, including work on the forthcoming Grok 4.

From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026

Mr. Lew, with his stout belly straining against the frog knots of his long changshan, listened with an amused smirk as Ba rattled off concerns about the store.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Hamilton, born in Indiana in 1936, first studied mathematics at the University of Michigan in 1955 before moving to Earlham College where she got a BA in mathematics in 1958.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

The glitch, which Boeing BA 0.65%increase; up pointing triangle acknowledged, hasn’t been publicly disclosed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

The rest is split between a group of UK airlines including BA, easyJet and Virgin Atlantic as well as Heathrow and Nats staff.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered the inspections of Boeing BA -3.33%decrease; down pointing triangle 737 Max jets for cracks of a component that could affect the structural integrity of the planes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Named 1991 BA, it was noticed as it sailed past us at a distance of 106,000 miles–in cosmic terms the equivalent of a bullet passing through one’s sleeve without touching the arm.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Preston sang along with a McDonald’s commercial that came on the radio: “Ba da ba ba ba. I’m lovin’ it.”

From New York Times ● Feb. 18, 2018

Paulson holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and a B.A. from Carleton College.

From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026

Martin had a B.A., having studied English and Latin.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2026

“You just can’t assume as you once could that just a B.A. was enough. It’s what type of B.A. that you have that is driving value,” Strohl said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 25, 2025

He grew up in Hong Kong, earned a B.A. in History at the University of Chicago, and began writing for local publications like the Santa Barbara Independent and Straus News Manhattan.

From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2025

I had been taught that to have a B.A. meant to be a leader, and to be a leader one needed a B.A.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

King Charles has played a part in a historic hand ba' game in the Scottish Borders - despite some concern from his security guards.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

That ba’ was really the start o’ football here,” said her son Davie, according to the club’s official history.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 30, 2015

"Look, grandpaw, a new gowf ba' I foond, lost on the links."

From More Toasts by Marion Dix Mosher

And 'tween each stroke how socially Abreast in crack we go, And shape o' club and mak o' ba' Discuss wi' sportsman's glow.

From Poems on Golf by Edinburgh Burgess Golfing Society

Burd Ellen round about the aisle To seek the ba' has gane: But she bade lang, and ay langer, And she came na back again.

From Folk Lore Superstitious Beliefs in the West of Scotland within This Century by James Napier

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