pa
noun
pa
1 American
[pah, paw]
/ pɑ, pɔ /
noun
Informal.
pas
plural
Pa
2
American
abbreviation
Physics.
Pa
3
American
Symbol, Chemistry.
PA
4
American
abbreviation
-
Parents' Association.
-
paying agent.
-
Pennsylvania (approved especially for use with zip code).
-
physician's assistant.
-
press agent.
-
public-address system.
Pa.
5
American
abbreviation
p.a.
6
American
abbreviation
-
participial adjective.
-
per annum.
-
press agent.
P.A.
7
American
abbreviation
-
Parents' Association.
-
Insurance. particular average.
-
passenger agent.
-
post adjutant.
-
power of attorney.
-
press agent.
-
public-address system.
-
publicity agent.
-
purchasing agent.
PA
1
British
abbreviation
-
Pennsylvania
-
personal appearance
-
personal assistant
-
military Post Adjutant
-
power of attorney
-
press agent
-
Press Association
-
banking private account
-
public-address system
-
publicity agent
-
Publishers Association
-
purchasing agent
-
insurance particular average
-
(in New Zealand) probationary assistant
-
Panama (international car registration)
pa
2
British
/ pɑː /
noun
-
a Māori village or settlement
-
history a Māori defensive position and settlement on a hilltop
-
to abandon city life in favour of rural life
Pa
3
British
symbol
symbol
Pa.
4
British
abbreviation
pa
5
British
/ pɑː /
noun
pa
6
British
abbreviation
p.a.
7
British
abbreviation
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pa
Short for papa
Vocabulary lists containing pa
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:
Do you and your pa bond best over a meal or a pint?
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 15, 2023
Because stop sounds, along with vowels, are the earliest and most frequent sounds babies tend to babble – which means "pa," "ta," "ba" and "da" are all early infant vocalizations.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2022
The goi pa, a vibrant fish salad, is shimmering and opulent, scented with many kinds of mint, the meaty pieces almost invisible among a generous mass of makrut lime leaves and red onion.
From New York Times ● Mar. 8, 2022
I wanted Pa to win the fuss going on in the kitchen because he was my pa.
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
Since yer pa passed, our close friends Ben and Cillian have been helping me out since theirs is the next farm over.
From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness
Charles and Caroline are a handsome couple, with Pa hewn in the rugged spirit immortalized by Michael Landon in the 1970s TV classic.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
After serving 16-and-a-half months of his sentence, he was released on probation and has since been working to rebuild his life, which was recently the subject of BBC Three documentary The Trials of Pa Salieu.
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026
One of the videos I was looking at was of the first time I participated in a talent show, when I was in fifth grade and I played “Samba Pa Ti” by Carlos Santana.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 26, 2026
States across the U.S. have long offered historic or antique plates, and 25-year rules are common, said Steve Moskowitz, chief executive of the Antique Automobile Club of America in Hershey, Pa.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
“No wonder Uncle Jonah didn’t have a tooth left in his head,” Pa said, and they exploded into laughter, though going without teeth didn’t seem too funny to me.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
The PA news agency and several media outlets said Harry's family had travelled from an unspecified destination in Europe for the meeting at Highgrove, Charles's private residence in southwestern England.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
The officer had some thoughts on that: “I promise I’m a better rider than you,” the officer said over the PA system.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
In Montgomery County, PA, home prices climbed 2.5% month-over-month in April, the biggest increase among the U.S. metropolitan areas Redfin analyzed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
Dr. Becky asks listeners to imagine three different pilots whose voices could come over the PA.
From Slate ● May 10, 2026
Then they began following other people out—the PA had told them to head to where they’d boarded the ship two weeks ago.
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
“It’s Trey’s day,” Dino said, reminiscing on his youngest son’s Little League days, his home run derby victory in Williamsport, Pa., his growth through travel ball and high school.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Aaron Marks, founding partner and chief strategy officer at Amplius Wealth Advisors in Blue Bell, Pa., tells clients: “What if all your eggs are in one basket and they crack?”
From Barron's ● Jun. 13, 2026
My great-uncle Dan was a diocesan priest at St. Charles Borromeo in Drexel Hill, Pa. Dan was a fire-and-brimstone hard-liner.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
The man who became Buddy Bradley was born Clarence Bradley Epps in 1905 in Clarkesville, Ga. Orphaned at 14, he moved to Harrisburg, Pa., and soon went to work as a busboy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
“Your pa will bring us lots of food when he returns,” Ma tells Geak when she asks for Pa. The soldiers come to our village more and more often now.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
There's plentiful money if usa spends billions $ less p.a.
From New York Times ● Apr. 15, 2016
And for online degree programs delivered via a self-paced, competency-based model, the marginal cost including support and advising is likely under $1,000 p.a.
From Forbes ● Jun. 10, 2015
The US gdp/capita grew 1.4 pct p.a. in the 19th century with an average inflation of zero, inflation in war-time and deflation afterwards.
From Economist ● Jul. 26, 2012
Safeguarding Children Board Manager halton borough council. an exciting opportunity has arisen for a professio…. £35,430 - £38,042 p.a..
From The Guardian ● Mar. 21, 2010
Stephen Drakes, was there at 8 a.m., and he wasn't letting me near the p.a.
From Time Magazine Archive
With these three factors, it’s possible to predict the likelihood of an accident, says sleep researcher Hans P.A.
From Slate ● Nov. 26, 2025
The only things missing from his emergence as UCLA’s closer are an entrance song and a breathless announcement from the P.A. announcer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 2025
During a rousing rendition of the 1978 ballad “Human Highway,” a P.A. seemed to blow out, cutting off Young’s amplification entirely.
From New York Times ● May 17, 2024
When the two teams walked out of the tunnel, Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” played on the P.A.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 6, 2023
When I came to a line like “Fight manfully onward,” I could believe that if I held out, one day I might really get to Washington, P.A.
From "Homesick" by Jean Fritz
Canada has form in Eurovision: appearing for Switzerland, Canadian then-starlet Celine Dion triumphed in 1988 singing "Ne partez pas sans moi", launching her career internationally.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
The only real faux pas, according to Lizzie Dushaj, is blandness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
When a nameless secretary drops a sheaf of papers, Kornev’s response to help is instinctive, yet we cringe at the careless faux pas he commits in this unfeeling society.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
On this week’s Slate Plus exclusive, Timothée Chalamet enters the pas de deux between an Oscar-nominated actor and a public itching for a villain.
From Slate ● Mar. 13, 2026
In making his pitch, Ernest committed a grave faux pas.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
