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Synonyms

ma

1 American  
[mah] / mɑ /

noun

Informal.

  1. mother.

Ma 2 American  
[mah] / mɑ /

noun

  1. Yo-Yo born 1955, U.S. cellist, born in Paris of Chinese descent.

MA 3 American  

abbreviation

  1. Massachusetts (approved especially for use with zip code).

  2. Psychology. mental age.

mA 4 American  

  1. milliampere; milliamperes.

M.A. 5 American  

abbreviation

  1. Master of Arts.

M.A. 6 American  

abbreviation

  1. Psychology. mental age.

  2. Military Academy.

MA 1 British  

abbreviation

  1. Massachusetts

  2. Master of Arts

  3. psychol mental age

  4. Military Academy

  5. Morocco (international car registration)

"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
Ma 2 British  
/ mɑː /

noun

  1. Yo-Yo (ˈjəʊjəʊ). born 1955, US cellist, born in France to Chinese parents

"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
ma 3 British  
/ mɑː /

noun

  1. an informal word for mother 1

"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
ma 4 British  

abbreviation

  1. Morocco

"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 ma1

Shortened variant of mama

Origin of M.A.5

From Latin Magister 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.

It took a Stone throw to find the ma.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025

"Good afternoon ma, I have not seen the hospital items"

From BBC • Jul. 14, 2025

The first gallery — voluminous, glowing, visually still — introduced the Japanese concept of ma, sometimes described as an emptiness full of possibilities, into a Western ensemble of forms straight from the geometry book.

From New York Times • Dec. 29, 2022

“Think Marination ma kai with a 98118 twist …” they say on Facebook.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 30, 2022

Charlie Parr was across the aisle with his ma.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.