Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Jump To:
  • San
    San
    noun
    a member of a nomadic aboriginal people of southern Africa.
  • -san
    -san
    a suffix used in Japanese as a term of respect after names or titles.
  • san
    san
    noun
    short for sanatorium

San

1 American  
[sahn] / sɑn /

noun

Sans plural
  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.


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.


-san 3 American  
  1. a suffix used in Japanese as a term of respect after names or titles.

    Suzuki-san; samurai-san.


San 1 British  
/ sɑːn /

noun

  1. an aboriginal people of southern Africa

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

"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

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)

"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

san 3 British  
/ sæn /

noun

  1. old-fashioned short for sanatorium

"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

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

Etymology

Origin of -san

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

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.

Durazo was ahead of four other candidates in District 1, which stretches from downtown Los Angeles across the San Gabriel Valley.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026

Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled its own cutting-edge artificial intelligence models in San Francisco -- a crucial step toward reducing its dependence on OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT.

From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026

Millions of people are preparing to visit the United States for the World Cup, which starts June 11 and includes host cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026

New York-based Deviation Capital is searching for an office space in San Francisco and planning to double its investment team of two there.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026

Looking at their maps, San Román and Oliva could see another mistake the Americans had made.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "San" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com