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:
He also picked up best reggaetón performance for Voy a llevarte pa PR, and best urban music album for Debí Tirar Más Fotos.
From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2025
“Anpil men, chay pa lou! Many hands lighten the load.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2023
Do you and your pa bond best over a meal or a pint?
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 15, 2023
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
Queenie said, “Lawd Jesus, Mr. Will, yo pa he ack lak he got a dimon ring in his pocket!”
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
Ingrid is involved in music and theater at Quincy Village, which is part of Presbyterian Senior Living, and attends local history discussions in nearby Waynesboro, Pa.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
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
With Pa being a fiddler, music played a significant role in Wilder’s work and Sonnenshine was determined to reflect that; all the songs played in Season 1 are from the books.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Chris Grouzes, 41, said no one had asked to borrow from his collection of 20 hacky sacks during his nearly two decades of teaching at Penncrest High School in Media, Pa.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
“Eben’s free to lead his own life, once he’s grown up,” Pa said.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
“He did not respond to our phone calls, our PA announcements, or multiple other attempts to try to contact him.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Wright, an American architect known for his innovative designs such as Fallingwater in Mill Run, PA, and the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan, designed homes that fit into their surroundings.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
PA refers to product area, a term Google uses for divisions such as Google Search.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
The monarch "welcomes the opportunity to see more of the family in a personal capacity", but there will be no change in their status and the couple would still not be working royals, PA said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
There was a pause of a few seconds and then we heard, echoing through the cavern of B-block, the voice of Chilmark bellowing over the PA system.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
The Johnstown, Pa., flood in 1889 killed more 2,000 and attracted attention around the world.
From Barron's ● Sep. 5, 2026
Several years ago we spent October in Lancaster, Pa., and absolutely loved it.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Siceloff, who lives in nearby Darlington, Pa., participated, with 20,000 others, in the $600 million class-action settlement Norfolk Southern reached in 2024.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Mangione fled, and was later arrested in a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa. after a dayslong manhunt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
I glanced at Pa. “I just wasted a whole afternoon on a joke.”
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
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
Senior Clinical Research Fellow - Royal Devon and… healthjobsuk. exeter. £29,411 - £46,246 p.a..
From The Guardian ● Mar. 16, 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 director Radu Jude wrote Angela’s character with a real-life P.A. in mind: a 22-year-old who died after falling asleep at the wheel.
From New York Times ● Feb. 23, 2024
Air purifiers were set next to large fans, creating industrial noise that made it necessary to use a P.A. system.
From Salon ● May 9, 2023
They picked over a fire sale of Bedrock’s gear, carting off drum sets, amp stacks, pianos and P.A. systems with misty eyes and a quiet nostalgia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2022
Then quickly she began talking about Washington, P.A., again.
From "Homesick" by Jean Fritz
The market is shaky because the nuclear euphoria of the pas two years has worn off.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
Elle meanwhile manages to commit faux pas after faux pas in a community that gives all-new meaning to 50 shades of gray and sneers at anything and everyone from L.A.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
“So sad to hear of the passing of Pierre Deny,” actor Sylvie Vartan wrote in French on Instagram, posting a photo of herself with Deny on stage in “Ne me regardez pas comme ça!”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
She was quick to try to clean up her faux pas, claiming she had skipped over the section because her statement was running long, but no one believed it.
From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2026
Sometimes, however, for no reason that science can yet explain, a perfectly ordinary faux pas is not forgotten at all.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
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.
