Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Jump To:
Synonyms

ma

1 American  
[mah] / mɑ /

noun

Informal.
mas plural
  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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of ma1

Shortened variant of mama

Origin of M.A.5

From Latin Magister Artium

Vocabulary lists containing ma

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.

The justly celebrated Paul Volcker, central banking hero and Fed chairman from 1979 to 1987, had an M.A. in political economy, but no Ph.D.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 8, 2026

Missy has a M.A. from Stanford University and a B.A. from UCLA.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 21, 2026

"A common misconception is that opioid overdoses primarily affect younger people," said Gab Pasia, M.A., lead author of the study and a medical student at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine.

From Science Daily • Oct. 13, 2025

Thompson will be joined on the 27-player roster by Angel City FC teammate M.A.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 18, 2023

I was impressed with his degree, but when I met him, I thought to myself, “This chap has an M.A. and he is not even wearing a tie!”

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "ma" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com