A, a: Meaning and Definition of

A

Pronunciation: (ā), [key]
— pl. A's As, a's as.
  1. the first letter of the English alphabet, a vowel.
  2. any spoken sound represented by the letter A or a, as in bake, hat, father, or small.
  3. something having the shape of an
  4. a written or printed representation of the letter A or a.
  5. a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter A or a.
  6. from beginning to end; thoroughly; completely: He knows the Bible from A to Z.
  7. to know nothing; be ignorant.

a

Pronunciation: (u when stressed ā), [key]
— indefinite article.
  1. not any particular or certain one of a class or group: a man; a chemical; a house.
  2. a certain; a particular: one at a time; two of a kind; A Miss Johnson called.
  3. another; one typically resembling: a Cicero in eloquence; a Jonah.
  4. one (used before plural nouns that are preceded by a quantifier singular in form):(compare hundreds of men); a dozen times (compare dozens of times). a hundred men
  5. indefinitely or nonspecifically (used with adjectives expressing number): a great many years; a few stars.
  6. one (used before a noun expressing quantity): a yard of ribbon; a score of times.
  7. any; a single: not a one.

a

Pronunciation: (u when stressed ā), [key]
— prep.
  1. each; every; per: ten cents a sheet; three times a day.

a

Pronunciation: (u), [key]
— prep.
  1. a reduced, unstressed form of(often written as part of a single, unhyphenated word): cloth a gold; time a day; kinda; sorta.

a

Pronunciation: (u), [key]
— auxiliary verb.
  1. a reduced, unstressed form of auxiliaryfollowing some modals, as might, should, could, would, and must (usually written as part of a single, unhyphenated word):Cf. of. We shoulda gone.

a

Pronunciation: (u, a, ä), [key]
— pron.
  1. he.
  2. she.
  3. it.
  4. they.
  5. I.

a'

Pronunciation: (ä, ô), [key]
— adj.
  1. all: for a' that.

A

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. ampere; amperes.
  2. angstrom.
  3. answer.
  4. arterial (used with a road number to designate a major highway): Take the A525 to Ruthin.

A

Pronunciation: [key]
— Symbol.
  1. the first in order or in a series.
  2. (sometimes l.c.) (in some grading systems) a grade or mark, as in school or college, indicating the quality of a student's work as excellent or superior.
  3. (sometimes l.c.) (in some school systems) a symbol designating the first semester of a school year.
    1. the sixth tone in the scale of C major or the first tone in the relative minor scale, A minor.
    2. a string, key, or pipe tuned to this tone.
    3. a written or printed note representing this tone.
    4. (in the fixed system of solmization) the sixth tone of the scale of C major, called la.
    5. the tonality having A as the tonic note.
  4. a major blood group, usually enabling a person whose blood is of this type to donate blood to persons of group A or AB and to receive blood from persons of O or A. Cf. ABO system.
  5. (sometimes l.c.) the medieval Roman numeral for 50 or 500. Cf. Roman numerals.
  6. (formerly) argon.
  7. See
    1. adenine.
    2. alanine.
  8. See
  9. a designation for a motion picture recommended as suitable for adults. Cf. AA (def. 5),(def. 5),(def. 9).
  10. a proportional shoe width size, narrower than B and wider than AA.
  11. a proportional brassiere cup size, smaller than B and larger than AA.
  12. a quality rating for a corporate or municipal bond, lower than AA and higher than BBB.

a

Pronunciation: [key]
— Meas. Meas.
  1. are; ares.

a

Pronunciation: [key]
— Symbol, Logic.
  1. See

Å

Pronunciation: [key]
— Symbol, Physics.
  1. angstrom.

A-

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. atomic (used in combination): A-bomb; A-plant.

a-

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. a reduced form of the Old English preposition on, meaning “on,” “in,” “into,” “to,” “toward,” preserved before a noun in a prepositional phrase, forming a predicate adjective or an adverbial element (afoot; abed; ashore; aside; away), or before an adjective (afar; aloud; alow), as a moribund prefix with a verb (acknowledge), and in archaic and dialectal use before a present participle in -ing (set the bells aringing); and added to a verb stem with the force of a present participle (ablaze; agape; aglow; astride; and originally, awry).

a-

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. a reduced form of the Old English preposition of: akin; afresh; anew.

a-

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. an old point-action prefix, not referring to an act as a whole, but only to the beginning or end:(rose up). They abided by their beliefs (remained faithful to the end). She arose

a-

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. var. ofbefore p and v: aperient; avert.

a-

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. var. ofused: (1) before sc, sp, st (ascend) and (2) in words of French derivation (often with the sense of increase, addition): amass.

a-

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. var. of before a consonant, meaning “not,” “without”: amoral; atonal; achromatic.

-a

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. a plural ending of nouns borrowed from Greek and Latin: phenomena; criteria; data; errata; genera.

-a

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. a feminine singular ending of nouns borrowed from Latin and Greek, also used in Neo-Latin coinages to Latinize bases of any origin, and as a Latin substitute for the feminine ending -ē of Greek words: anabaena; cinchona; pachysandra.

-a

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. an ending of personal names forming feminines from masculines: Georgia; Roberta.

-a

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. a suffix designating the oxide of the chemical element denoted by the stem: alumina; ceria; thoria.

A.

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. Absolute.
  2. Academy.
  3. acre; acres.
  4. America.
  5. American.
  6. angstrom.
  7. year.
  8. answer.
  9. before.
  10. April.
  11. Artillery.

a.

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. about.
  2. acre; acres.
  3. active.
  4. adjective.
  5. alto.
  6. ampere; amperes.
  7. year.
  8. anonymous.
  9. answer.
  10. before.
  11. are; ares.
  12. assist; assists.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.