a

verb

ə, 

(ˌ)a 

archaic

: have

I might a had husbands afore now …

—John Bunyan

Poor Sir William! never shall I forget how he looked whin my lady and he parted. I could a tould the reason, but I'd a cut my tongue out first.

—Anne Newport Royall

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Words Starting With a

Browse 22,515 words and phrases that start with the letter A, from aa to Azzazame.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, contraction of have

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

a

1 of 5 noun

ˈā 

plural a's or as

often capitalized

1

: the first letter of the English alphabet

2

: a musical note referred to by the letter A : the sixth tone of a C-major scale

3

: a grade rating a student's work as superior

a

2 of 5 indefinite article

ə 

(ˈ)ā

1

: someone or something unspecified

a man in the street

a dozen

2

: the same : one

two of a kind

birds of a feather

3

: of whatever kind : any

a student who works hard

—used in all senses before words beginning with a consonant sound compare an

a

3 of 5 preposition

ə 

(ˈ)ā

: in each : to each : for each

twice a week

one a piece

a-

4 of 5 prefix

ə

1

: on : in : at

abed

2

: in a specified state or condition

afire

3

: in a specified manner

aloud

4

: in the act or process of

gone a-hunting

a-

5 of 5 prefix

(ˈ)ā

variants or an-

(ˈ)an

: not : without

asexual

—a- before consonants other than h and sometimes before h, an- before vowels and usually before h

anhydrate

Etymology

Old English ān "one"

Old English a-, an, on "on"

Old English a- "on, in, at"

Greek a-, an- "not"

Medical Definition

a

1 of 4 abbreviation

1

about

2

absent

3

absolute

4

absorbency; absorbent

5

accommodation

6

acetum

7

acid; acidity

8

actin

9

active; activity

10

allergist; allergy

11

alpha

12

anode

13

answer

14

ante

15

anterior

16

aqua

17

area

18

artery

19

asymmetric; asymmetry

A

2 of 4 noun

ˈā 

: the one of the four ABO blood groups characterized by the presence of antigens designated by the letter A and by the presence of antibodies against the antigens present in the B blood group

A

3 of 4 abbreviation

1

adenine

2

ampere

Å

4 of 4 symbol

angstrom