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
It also recognizes “the fundamental role” of soccer’s international governing body, FIFA, and the important role of regional and national soccer federations, as well as relevant associations, in p romoting the game.
From Seattle Times ● May 7, 2024
They measured grass pollen counts and but also sampled air for the grass pollen Phl p 5 grass allergen protein in the same location at King's College London over the same time period.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 8, 2024
Now they were over the t p of the cliffs and in a few minutes the valley land of Narnia had sunk out of sight behind them.
From "The Magician's Nephew" by C. S. Lewis
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
Michelle Morris, Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, said: "This represents an extremely serious injustice to Mr P and to his family."
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
Mr. P swept her up in his arms and twirled to a song he bellowed out in Greek.
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
“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
Who would not give all else for two p- ennyworth only of beautiful 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
The beginner, in his haste to advance the Pawn, will probably play P- e5 at once and lose the Pawn, as Black can answer Q-d4 check with simultaneous attack on the Pawn.
From Chess and Checkers : the Way to Mastership by Edward Lasker
And, indeed, poor P-, quite young, and a smart seaman, was very hard of hearing.
From The Mirror of the Sea by Joseph Conrad
Thus P- passed away from amongst the tall spars of ships that he had tried to their utmost in many a spell of boisterous weather.
From The Mirror of the Sea by Joseph Conrad
For example, where Bromley sounds pedantic or confused, the index picks this up: “Chatham, where and how situated, viz., on the other Side Rochester Bridge, though commonly reported to be on this Side, p. 1.”
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2022
Tours: Tuesday through Saturday from 12:45 p.m. to 3 p. m., subject to availability.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 7, 2019
“The moral and political obligation to resist use of torture”: 7-9 p. m.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 4, 2017
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
“We share the dissent’s hope that the Supreme Court will settle this matter,” Judge Joshua P. Kolar wrote for the majority.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
"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
Seymour P. Lachman and Robert Polner give Carey his due for cajoling lawmakers, both at the state and the federal levels, into action.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Writing in the Yale Law Journal, Cherneff reconstructed the history of In re Turner, an 1867 decision by Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase that helped end the re-enslavement of Black children through involuntary “apprenticeships.”
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Since it looked like I might not be hired at Langley right away, I applied to become a substitute teacher at the Collis P. Huntington High School.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
Also on the list are Tito Doble P’s “Acomodo” and Trio Asesino’s self-titled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
Only the three P's - pee, paper and poo should be put down the toilet.
From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2025
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
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
You need the three Ps: patience, paperwork and perseverance.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 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 goal, Sherin said, must be adequate resources for housing and help, along with creating safe living environments that offer what he calls the three Ps — people, place and purpose.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2025
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
“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
We do this again and again etc., etc. until we have the theoretical distribution of p's.
From Textbooks ● Nov. 29, 2017
A gritty band of physicists and data specialists is locked in smash-mouth combat, a battle etched in p’s and chi’s.
From Slate ● Jan. 30, 2015
In no time the house smelled like spaghetti and fish sticks, instead of the chewy and mushy three p's Clayton’s mother left for them: pork chops, peas, and potatoes.
From "Clayton Byrd Goes Underground" by Rita Williams-Garcia
Meaningful employment prospects are weak. ps - May we please see the underlying assumptions on which these claims of full employment are based?
From New York Times ● Mar. 1, 2017
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
Sincerely, The Ghost of Saddam Oh, and then there's this advice: ps don't join myspace!
From The Guardian ● Jun. 3, 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.
