p

1 of 5

noun

ˈpē 

variants often P

plural p's or ps ˈpēz 

often attributive

1

a

: the 16th letter of the English alphabet

b

: a graphic representation of this letter

c

: a speech counterpart of orthographic p

2

: a graphic device for reproducing the letter p

3

: one designated p especially as the 16th in order or class

4

[abbreviation for pass]

a

: a grade rating a student's work as passing

b

: one graded or rated with a P

5

: something shaped like the letter P

p

2 of 5

abbreviation (1)

1

page; pages

2

parental generation

3

part

4

participle

5

past

6

pater

7

pawn

8

pence; penny

9

per

10

peseta

11

peso

12

petite

13

piano

14

pico-

15

pint

16

pipe

17

pitch

18

pole

19

port

20

power

21

pro

22

progressive

23

proton

24

purl

P

3 of 5

abbreviation (2)

1

pressure

2

[French poids] weight

P

4 of 5

symbol

phosphorus

p-

5 of 5

abbreviation (3)

para-

Did you know?

Words Starting With P

Browse 30,821 words and phrases that start with the letter P, from pa to pyx-jury.

Examples of p in a Sentence

Noun

a word that starts with a p

a word that starts with p

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Conducted in October 2025, the trial showed the system engaging multiple drones using its Palletized High Energy Laser (P-HEL) setup. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 21 Apr. 2026

Strategist Dubravko Lakos-Bujas raised his year-end target on the S & P 500 to 7,600 from 7,200, implying upside of about 7% from Monday’s close. —Fred Imbert, CNBC, 21 Apr. 2026

The eight-member unit introduced the desert to P-pop, performing in a mix of Filipino, Tagalog, and English. —Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 17 Apr. 2026

Lunar Lake has four E-cores and four P-cores, a composition common for Apple’s M-series chips but not, so far, for Intel’s. —Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica, 16 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing p

• mind one's p's and q's
• p's and q's
• p-type
• watch one's p's and q's

Kids Definition

p

noun

ˈpē

often capitalized

: the 16th letter of the English alphabet

Medical Definition

P

1 of 3 abbreviation

1

parental

2

part

3

percentile

4

pharmacopoeia

5

pint

6

pole

7

population

8

position

9

positive

10

posterior

11

pressure

12

pulse

13

pupil

P

2 of 3 symbol

phosphorus

p-

3 of 3 abbreviation

para-

p-dichlorobenzene