indefinite article

American  

noun

Grammar.

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

---

indefinite article British  

noun

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

---

indefinite article Cultural  

1. 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.”

---

Etymology

Origin of indefinite article

First recorded in 1720–30

Example Sentences

Ich bin Berliner is how most Berlin natives would express the sentiment, but the president was actually showing off a complex understanding of German when he added the indefinite article.

From Salon • Mar. 5, 2022

I thought a singular noun should always follow the singular indefinite article “a.”

From Washington Post • Jun. 4, 2020

Plus, no one uses the indefinite article “a” in front of a language.

From Slate • Aug. 30, 2018

In the case of “A War,” which is set partly in Afghanistan, and which has earned an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, the indefinite article matters a lot.

From The New Yorker • Feb. 22, 2016

At this point he wants to refer to a subset of those herons, so he introduces just these ones with the indefinite article: A few come to Cape Cod.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker