Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

A1

Syllabification: (A)
Pronunciation: /ā/
(also a)
Translate A | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of A

noun (plural As or A's)

  • 1the first letter of the alphabet.
  • denoting the first in a set of items, categories, sizes, etc..
  • denoting the first of two or more hypothetical people or things:suppose A had killed B
  • the highest class of academic mark.
  • (a) Chess denoting the first file from the left, as viewed from white’s side of the board.
  • (usually a) the first fixed quantity in an algebraic expression.
  • (A) the human blood type (in the ABO system) containing the A agglutinogen and lacking the B.
  • 2a shape like that of a capital A: [in combination]:an A-shapeSee also A-frame, A-line.
  • 3 Music the sixth note of the diatonic scale of C major.
  • a key based on a scale with A as its keynote.

Phrases

from A to B

from one’s starting point to one’s destination:most road atlases will get you from A to B

from A to Z

over the entire range; completely:make sure you understand the subject from A to Z

plan A

one’s original plan or strategy:plan A having gone horribly wrong, Ferguson used the interval to change his formationCompare with plan B.

A in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of A in the British & World English dictionary
  |  Cite
Oxford Dictionaries Pro

For Oxford's best resources for writers, plus thesaurus, audio, and 1.9m examples.

Shop for an Oxford dictionary

Find the perfect Oxford dictionary for you in our online shop.
SHOP NOW ►

Word of the day

monocular

/ məˈnɒkjʊlə /
adjective , noun
with, for, or in one eye …