'a

A form of a — The first letter of the English alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

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Meanings

pronoun
  1. alternativearchaicAlternative form of a (“he, she, they”).
verb
  1. alternativearchaicAlternative form of a (“have, had”).
particle
  1. alternativeAlternative form of a (“to”).

    So while we’re all distracted tryin’ ’a fix it all – that’s when they strike.

    2014, R[oger] N. Morris, chapter 11, in The Dark Palace (A Silas Quinn Mystery; 3), Sutton, Surrey: Crème de la Crime, →ISBN, Part 1 (Love), page 50
    2 more examples

    Say, these stripes, stripes sure don’t worry me. But these chains, chains goin’ ’a kill me dead.

    1955, Russell Ames, “The Open Road, the Chain Gang, and the Jail”, in The Story of American Folk Song (The Listener’s Music Library), New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, published 1960, →OCLC, page 248

    Well, this one’s ’ere all right. Captain’s wife or somefink, the mate says. Least, that’s what I think he’s tryin’ ’a say, because he can’t speak no English.

    2009, Jennifer Worth, “The Captain’s Daughter”, in Farewell to the East End, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, →ISBN, page 237
Cite this entry
APA

'a. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/'a

MLA

“'a.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/'a. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “'a,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/'a.

Source: 'a on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.