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.
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
For Asah Nkansah, leader of the Kwan Pa band -- whose name means "the right path" -- the timing is symbolic.
From Barron's • Jan. 9, 2026
In peacetime, it is a small town the size of Sarasota, Fla., or State College, Pa.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025
After getting a master’s degree in education there, he went on to earn a doctorate at Fielding Graduate University and had a teaching career including posts at Fielding and Lincoln University, near Oxford, Pa.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 30, 2025
So Pa really believed I’d find Seven Wonders or he wouldn’t have written Cousin Molly!
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
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.
