p
abbreviation
p
1 Americanabbreviation
p
2
American
abbreviation
P
3
American
[pee]
/ pi /
Or
p
noun
-
P's,
plural
-
Ps,
plural
-
p's,
plural
-
ps
plural
-
the sixteenth letter of the English alphabet, a consonant.
-
any spoken sound represented by the letter P or p, as in pet, supper, top, etc.
-
something having the shape of a P .
-
a written or printed representation of the letter P or p.
-
a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter P or p.
P
4
American
abbreviation
-
Education. (as a rating of student performance) passing.
-
Chess. pawn.
-
Electronics. plate.
-
poor.
-
Grammar. predicate.
-
Protestant.
P
5
American
Symbol.
-
the 16th in order or in a series.
-
(sometimes lowercase) the medieval Roman numeral for 400.
-
Genetics. parental.
-
Chemistry. phosphorus.
-
Physics.
-
Chemistry. proton.
-
Biochemistry. proline.
p-
6
American
abbreviation
P-
7
American
abbreviation
p.
8
American
abbreviation
p.
9
American
abbreviation
p.
10
American
abbreviation
p.
11
American
abbreviation
-
page.
-
part.
-
participle.
-
past.
-
Chess. pawn.
-
penny; pence.
-
per.
-
Grammar. person.
-
peseta.
-
peso.
-
pint.
-
pipe.
-
Baseball. pitcher.
-
pole.
-
population.
-
president.
-
pressure.
-
purl.
P.
12
American
abbreviation
P.
13
American
abbreviation
-
pastor.
-
peseta.
-
peso.
-
post.
-
president.
-
pressure.
-
priest.
-
prince.
-
progressive.
P
1
British
symbol
-
chem phosphorus
-
physics
-
pressure
-
power
-
parity
-
poise
-
-
(on road signs) parking
-
chess pawn
-
currency
-
(the former) peseta
-
peso
-
pataca
-
pula
-
abbreviation
-
Portugal (international car registration)
-
pharmacy only: used to label medicines that can be obtained without a prescription, but only at a shop at which there is a pharmacist
p.
2
British
abbreviation
-
page
-
part
-
participle
-
past
-
per
-
post
-
pro
p
3
British
symbol
-
(in Britain) penny or pence
-
music piano: an instruction to play quietly
-
pico-
-
physics
-
momentum
-
proton
-
pressure
-
p
4
British
/ piː /
noun
-
the 16th letter and 12th consonant of the modern English alphabet
-
a speech sound represented by this letter, usually a voiceless bilabial stop, as in pig
-
to be careful to behave correctly and use polite or suitable language
p-
5
British
prefix
p
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of p1
From the Italian word piano
Origin of p.8
From the Latin word pater
Origin of p.9
From the Italian word piano
Origin of p.10
From the Latin word post
Origin of P.12
From the Latin word Pater
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:
Rajadhyaksha points out there is a “remarkably consistent pattern p st most geopolitical conflicts …of an initial shock…then a grind back as economic fundamentals reassert themselves.”
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 26, 2026
"It's political with a small p - there's enough that roots us in the real world but the world is too complicated to link it directly and I think it would be inappropriate."
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2025
The Warriors were without p Draymond Green for personal reasons and Gary Payton II due to an illness.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 8, 2023
It also struggled if two sounds were similar, like /p/ and /b/.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2023
Research into HPV eventually uncovered how Henrietta’s cancer started: HPV inserted its DNA into the long arm of her eleventh chromosome and essentially turned off her p 5 3 tumor suppressor gene.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
Even then, researchers expected it would produce the same results as the other times they have pointed their models at the infamous Riemann hypothesis, the P vs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Some juicy wordplay: How many words can you make with the letters N, U, E, P, G, and R?
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
Under typical conditions, Po and So waves form when P and S waves scatter repeatedly through layered structures inside an oceanic plate.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026
“From there on, Tito Double P was another persona,” said Laija García.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
When Bridge asked her about it, Em just shrugged and said, “Hey, it’s free cookies. Mr. P gets black-and-whites from Nussbaum’s.”
From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead
“It’s awful hard to ask the girl, ‘Will you go to the p- pr- pr- prom with me?’
From New York Times ● Nov. 6, 2022
The antiproton p- is u- u- d , for example.
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
Transcriber's Note: The hyphen at the end of the third line of the second verse is deliberate in the original, so that "two p-" pronounced as one syllable rhymes with "soup."
From Songs From Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
It was p- pretty f-f-foggy when we got to the wharf, and we s-saw it wouldn't be s-safe for F-Father and M-M-Mother and B-Betty and Alice and the b-b-baby to go sailing, anyhow.
From The Voyage of the Hoppergrass by Edmund Lester Pearson
It was something like this: Man with p- Get- Br- We spelled it out slowly.
From The Man in Lower Ten by Mary Roberts Rinehart
The time between the P- and S-waves is routinely used to determine the distance to their source, the epicenter of the earthquake.
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
Mantle rock is generally denser and stronger than crustal rock and both P- and S-waves travel faster through the mantle than they do through the crust.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
To be considered are P- B4 and B-KKt5.
From Chess Strategy by J. Du Mont
P- Q4, but the exchange of the B for the Kt gives Black a free development and in consequence a good game.
From Chess Strategy by J. Du Mont
And Mr. P-, who was not good at catching what was shouted in the wind, would say interrogatively: “Yes, sir?”
From The Mirror of the Sea by Joseph Conrad
When he states the obvious, the index is there to point this out for the reader: “Naples the Capital City of the Kingdom of Naples, p. 195.”
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2022
On Thursday at 1 p. m., a service will be held at Acacia Memorial Park in Lake Forest Park, with full military honors.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 31, 2022
Tours: Tuesday through Saturday from 12:45 p.m. to 3 p. m., subject to availability.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 7, 2019
The District Court stayed its order pending appellate review on condition that review was sought before 4 p. m.,
From MSNBC ● Jul. 22, 2015
Opposite p., left: When the sun is not directly overhead, shadows of equal length are cast.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
The name was technically an Easter egg: Pasqually P. Pieplate is the chef in Chuck E. Cheese’s animatronic house band.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
The research received support from the National Institutes of Health, the Edward P. Evans Foundation, Blood Cancer United, and other partners focused on advancing blood cancer research.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
Myra P. Saefong explained how we all pay when diesel prices rise.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
Judge Huey P. Cotton ruled that Avila can either agree to a reduced award of $9.5 million in damages or undergo a new trial for the damages.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
And if it was in the United States, the theory went, it must be with J. P. Morgan.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
Armenta was instrumental in writing and producing Tito Double P’s 2024 debut “Incómodo,” a 21-track project that helped distinguish the Mexican corrido singer from his already famous cousin, Peso Pluma.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026
After exhausting all of her options, she opened Ms. P’s Child and Family Services in the downtown Washington area to provide services to middle- and low-income families with disabled children.
From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2025
The TikToker continued by referencing lyrics from Master P’s 1997 rap hit and Vandross’ 1981 soul ballad “A House Is Not a Home.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2023
“I was like, ‘This is going to be a 10-minute phone call, check my background, P’s and Q’s, whatever,’” UW director of social media Hadley Heck recalls of her job interview last summer.
From Seattle Times ● May 11, 2023
Screeching and leaping, the fans at Mr. P’s gave a good imitation of monkeys stung by a swarm of bees.
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
He can’t recall when or from whom he first heard the phrase, but ever since, the Five Ps have stuck with him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
He has a rule of Three Ps “is it possible, plausible or probable?” to judge the merits of the argument.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 5, 2026
Two Ps for you; Marco Penge and John Parry venture onto the PGA Tour for the first time as members in 2026.
From BBC ● Jan. 6, 2026
The designers also introduced their new logo in various forms — two abstract letter Ps combined to form an S — on a black sweater, or as hardware on shoes, belts or bags.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 10, 2023
The inside was bright white, and through the window you could see a huge mural with two gold Ps in the middle.
From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya
Viewed this way, minding our p’s and q’s is less about proscriptive notions of correctness, and more about mindfulness, self-discovery and proper conduct.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 7, 2023
Being aware of how to mind your p's and q's in each of those places is essential to getting by or possibly moving up in the world.
From Salon ● Nov. 24, 2022
Meanwhile, I minded my p’s and q’s—aka be little Miss Perfect.
From Slate ● Jun. 9, 2021
“It was an experience. I had to watch my p’s and q’s. If not, I’d hear about it,” Celebrezze told former Justice Patrick Fischer as part of an oral history project on the court.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 4, 2021
"Assistant district attorney. Judge: family court, state supreme court, appellate division. Appellate has two p's and two /'s. Never married, no children."
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
Favors, speeches, etc. ps someone may want to look at Al Gore as well.
From New York Times ● May 23, 2016
The standard normal distribution in probability, ps, corresponds to μ = 0 and σ = 1.
From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016
For example, because of their lifetimes of about 1.5 ps and their production at the LHC with momenta between a few GeV/c and ~100 GeV/c, mesons travel up to a few centimetres before they decay.
From Nature ● May 12, 2015
He taught me the bs, ms and ps, and how to place your tongue on the top of your mouth.
From The Guardian ● May 7, 2010
"No one eats that flesh, says S. Augustine, unless he has first adored" in ps.
From The Ceremonies of the Holy-Week at Rome by Charles Michael Baggs
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.
