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r

1 American  
Ecology.
  1. the theoretical intrinsic rate of increase of a population, equivalent to the difference between the birth and death rates divided by the number of individuals in the population.


r 2 American  

abbreviation

plural

rs
  1. radius.

  2. Commerce. registered.

  3. Electricity. resistance.

  4. Physics. roentgen.

  5. royal.

  6. ruble.

  7. rupee.


R 3 American  
[ahr] / ɑr /
Or r

noun

plural

R's, Rs, r's, rs
  1. the 18th letter of the English alphabet, a consonant.

  2. any spoken sound represented by the letter R or r, as in ran, carrot, or rhyme.

  3. something having the shape of R .

  4. a written or printed representation of the letter R or r.

  5. a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter R or r.

  6. three R's.


R 4 American  
[ahr] / ɑr /

verb

  1. Informal. are.

    Oysters R in season.


R 5 American  

abbreviation

  1. Trademark. restricted: a rating assigned to a movie by the MPA indicating that children under the age of 17 will not be admitted to a theater showing the film unless accompanied by an adult.


R 6 American  

abbreviation

  1. Chemistry. radical.

  2. Mathematics. ratio.

  3. regular: a man's suit or coat size.

  4. Electricity. resistance.

  5. Theater. stage right.

  6. Physics. roentgen.

  7. Chess. rook.


R 7 American  
Symbol.
  1. the 18th in order or in a series.

  2. (sometimes lowercase) the medieval Roman numeral for 80.

  3. Biochemistry. arginine.

  4. Physics. universal gas constant.

  5. registered trademark: written as superscript ® following a name registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.


r. 8 American  

abbreviation

plural

rs
  1. rabbi.

  2. railroad.

  3. railway.

  4. range.

  5. rare.

  6. Commerce. received.

  7. recipe.

  8. replacing.

  9. residence.

  10. right.

  11. rises.

  12. river.

  13. road.

  14. rod.

  15. royal.

  16. rubber.

  17. ruble.

  18. Baseball. run; runs.

  19. rupee.


R. 9 American  
Or R.

abbreviation

  1. (in prescriptions) take.


R. 10 American  

abbreviation

  1. rabbi.

  2. Radical.

  3. radius.

  4. railroad.

  5. railway.

  6. (in South Africa) rand; rands.

  7. Réaumur.

  8. rector.

  9. redactor.

  10. regina.

  11. Republican.

  12. response.

  13. rex.

  14. river.

  15. road.

  16. royal.

  17. ruble.

  18. rupee.

  19. Theater. stage right.


R. 1 British  

abbreviation

  1. registered (trademark)

  2. right

  3. river

  4. rouble

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

R. 2 British  

abbreviation

  1. rabbi

  2. rector

  3. Regina

  4. Republican

  5. response (in Christian liturgy)

  6. Rex

  7. River

  8. Royal

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

R 3 British  

symbol

  1. chem radical

  2. currency

    1. rand

    2. rupee

  3. Réaumur temperature (scale)

  4. physics electronics resistance

  5. roentgen or röntgen

  6. chess rook

  7. Royal

  8. chem gas constant

    1. restricted exhibition (used to describe a category of film certified as unsuitable for viewing by anyone under the age of 18)

    2. ( as modifier )

      an R film

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

r. 4 British  

abbreviation

  1. rare

  2. recto

  3. Also: r.  rod (unit of length)

  4. ruled

  5. cricket baseball run(s)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

r 5 British  
/ ɑː /

noun

  1. the 18th letter and 14th consonant of the modern English alphabet

  2. a speech sound represented by this letter, in English usually an alveolar semivowel, as in red

  3. See three Rs

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

r Scientific  
  1. Abbreviation of radius


R Idioms  
  1. see three R's.


Etymology

Origin of R5

An American designation established in 1968

Origin of R.9

From the Latin word recipe

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.

But AI systems also fail to count how often the letter r appears in “strawberry.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 21, 2025

These risks linger as r ecent resilience in the economy shows signs of fading.

From Barron's • Oct. 14, 2025

“They r a gift I accept more than money or shiny objects.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 22, 2024

Here’s what cooking for Thursday’s White House state dinne r honoring Kenya.

From Seattle Times • May 23, 2024

Baba was in a new brown-colored gown, which while plain was P tLAltltLKd r HUM n i nui omvu iji n\>m of an obviously fine-quality silk weave and workmanship.

From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan