indefinite article

nounGrammar.

an article, as English a, an, that denotes class membership of the noun it modifies without particularizing it.

Origin of indefinite article

First recorded in 1720–30

Words Nearby indefinite article

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use indefinite article in a sentence

AN is an indefinite article, I just said it twice, and AR is the letter that starts the word "rice."
National Scrabble Day: A Poem So You’ll Know All 101 Two-Letter Words | David Bukszpan | April 13, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
A, the indefinite article, a broken-down form of An, and used before words beginning with the sound of a consonant.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) | Various
An, an, adj. one: the indefinite article, used before words beginning with the sound of a vowel.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) | Various
Paizhik is one, and is also used as the indefinite article—the only article the language possesses.
Summary Narrative of an Exploratory Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi River, in 1820 | Henry Rowe Schoolcraft
Note the Irish idiom—the definite for the indefinite article.
Legends of Saints & Sinners | Douglas Hyde

We remember that the Latin language has neither a definite nor an indefinite article.
Domesday Book and Beyond | Frederic William Maitland

British Dictionary definitions for indefinite article

indefinite article

noun

grammar a determiner that expresses nonspecificity of reference, such as a, an, or some: Compare definite article

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

Cultural definitions for indefinite article

indefinite article

The word a or an introducing an unspecified noun or the name of a general category: “a dog,” “an apple,” “an orange.” An is used when the next word begins with a vowel or a silent (unpronounced) h, as in “an egg” or “an hour.”

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