San

¹ American  

[sahn] / sɑn /

noun

plural

Sans,

plural

San

1. a member of a nomadic aboriginal people of southern Africa.

2. any of more than a dozen related Khoisan languages spoken by the San.

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San ² American  

[sahn] / sɑn /

noun

1. a river in central Europe, flowing from the Carpathian Mountains in W Ukraine through SE Poland into the Vistula: battles 1914–15. About 280 miles (450 km) long.

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-san ³ American  

1. a suffix used in Japanese as a term of respect after names or titles.

   Suzuki-san; samurai-san.

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San ¹ British  

/ sɑːn /

noun

1. an aboriginal people of southern Africa

2. a group of the Khoisan languages, spoken mostly by Bushmen

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San ² British  

/ sɑːn /

noun

1. a river in E central Europe, rising in W Ukraine and flowing northwest across SE Poland to the Vistula River. Length: about 450 km (280 miles)

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san ³ British  

/ sæn /

noun

1. old-fashioned short for sanatorium

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Etymology

Origin of -san

< Japanese, contraction of -sama suffix denoting direction, appearance, respect

Example Sentences

In December 2025, a large power outage in San Francisco led Waymo taxis to stop working around the city, causing huge traffic jams.

From BBC

In 1898, a conservative Supreme Court upheld that rule and affirmed the citizenship of Wong Kim Ark. He was born in San Francisco to Chinese parents who later returned to China.

From Los Angeles Times

Taylor owns Central Coast Snake Services, a serpent consulting business, directs the Physiological Ecology of Reptiles Laboratory at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and is part of a network of volunteers who help ethically relocate rattlesnakes into the wild.

From Los Angeles Times

Those complex feelings were among the findings of the largest study of artificial intelligence in higher education to date, which polled 94,000 students, faculty and staff across 22 CSU campuses from San Diego to Arcata.

From Los Angeles Times

The survey, conducted by San Diego State University researchers last fall, shows CSU grappling with how AI is affecting assignments, classroom instruction, competition for jobs and academic integrity.

From Los Angeles Times