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
Today, p tau217 testing can help doctors diagnose Alzheimer's in patients who already have cognitive impairment.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 23, 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
Biden then speaks for several minutes with some of the hundreds of guests and p oses for photos.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 24, 2023
For Galileo’s rejection of the view that success in science can be based on rhetorical prowess, see below, p.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Test your knowledge of the English language: How many words can you create with the letters P, Y, C, R, O, and T?
From Slate ● Jul. 20, 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
Her report recommends apologising to Mrs P and making a payment of £2,000 to reflect the injustices caused.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026
We are very happy to work jointly to make sure that you don’t just drive token consumption, but you actually see changes in the P & L and in how people work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
Sometimes Mom would take us to the pool, and sometimes Dr. P would set up science experiments or let us work in her garden.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
“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
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
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
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
Kt- Q1, in order to start an assault on the King's side with P-B5, P- KR4 and P-Kt5.
From Chess Strategy by J. Du Mont
White's P- B3 is then clearly a lost move.
From Chess Strategy by J. Du Mont
The latter move prevents the exchange of the B after Black's Kt-R4, an exchange which would allow Black to round up his pawn formation with P- QB4.
From Chess Strategy by J. Du Mont
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
Open Saturdays 8 a.m. to 1 p. m.,
From Washington Post ● Aug. 19, 2021
The District Court stayed its order pending appellate review on condition that review was sought before 4 p. m.,
From MSNBC ● Jul. 22, 2015
Saturday; help count birds on short, family-friendly strolls through the forest or by the lake with expert birders, 10 a.m., noon and 2 p. m.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 15, 2012
Opposite p., left: When the sun is not directly overhead, shadows of equal length are cast.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
"An international wanted notice has been issued... for the head of the Telegram administration, P. Durov," it said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
The approved buyer of the mothballed residential, hotel and retail project is a partnership led by Kali P. Chaudhuri, whose KPC Development Co. owns and builds commercial properties in California and India.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Previous research has also linked P. gingivalis to widespread inflammation throughout the body and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including artery plaque buildup and coronary artery disease.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
In 1981, Esquire magazine ran a story written by onetime UPI photo staffer Stanley P. Friedman about the most-requested pictures that never actually existed: A shot of the foundering Titanic in 1912.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
When Roosevelt brought an antitrust lawsuit against J. P. Morgan, a multimillionaire banker, Morgan was stunned.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
Also on the list are Tito Doble P’s “Acomodo” and Trio Asesino’s self-titled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
Mr P's widow said she "feels completely failed by the very professionals she should have been able to trust".
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 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
Kakar says to think of these three P’s when heading to the court.
From Seattle Times ● May 3, 2024
Then he sits down on Dr. P’s front steps.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
“You need to be on your Ps and Qs in both categories,” Snead said, “both variables, right, to earn that type of contract.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 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 class was busy coloring Ps for “pumpkin.”
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
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
We do this again and again etc., etc. until we have the theoretical distribution of p's.
From Textbooks ● Nov. 29, 2017
In one message, he misspelled “tap” with two p’s!
From Washington Times ● Mar. 21, 2017
She snaps back, “Now, you just mind your own p’s and q’s there!”
From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
The standard normal distribution in probability, ps, corresponds to μ = 0 and σ = 1.
From Textbooks ● Mar. 30, 2016
And ps, his team didn't beat the Jets this week as much as the Jets beat themselves.
From New York Times ● Nov. 12, 2015
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
Sincerely, The Ghost of Saddam Oh, and then there's this advice: ps don't join myspace!
From The Guardian ● Jun. 3, 2010
Ed, Albuminiparous gland. u, Uterine dilatation of the hermaphrodite duct. d, Digitate accessory glands on the female duct. ps, Calciferous gland or dart-sac on the female duct.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5 "Gassendi, Pierre" to "Geocentric" by Various
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.
