a

uppercase A · plural as · plural a's

1. letterlowercaseThe first letter of the English alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

   Passmore. Capital P-a-double s-m-o-r-e.

   1926, George Kelly, Craig's Wife, Act I, page 5

   4 more examples

   This expression is zero, for we have replaced the column of as by the column of bs and hence the determinant has two columns identical.

   1917, John Wesley Young, Frank Millett Morgan, Elementary Mathematical Analysis, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, page 487

   Note that with 18-point type, fifteen capital A's, twenty-five lowercase a's, and twelve 1's are obtained with one font. With this information, it is possible to refer to Table 10-1 which gives the number of characters for each letter, punctuation mark, or figure.

   1974, Ervin A. Dennis, John D. Jenkins, “A Font of Type”, in Comprehensive Graphic Arts, Indianapolis, I.N.: Howard W. Sams & Co., Inc., →ISBN, page 26, column 2

   Across every sheet of paper were lines and lines of letters of the alphabet. A row of a's followed by a row of b's and so on, pages of them, like pages from a copy book, crudely formed as if from the hand of a young child.

   2013, Margaret McPhee, Mistress to the Marquis, Toronto, Ont.: Harlequin Historical, →ISBN, page 249

   In the seventh grade I admired a charismatic, witty girl who had a particular way of writing her lowercase a's. After some practice, I took to writing my lowercase a's in the same fashion.

   2014 February 23, Rivka Galchen, “What's Become of the So-Called Literary Bad Boy?”, in The New York Times Book Review, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 19 Feb 2014

uppercase A · plural as · plural a's

1. lowercaseThe first numeral symbol of the English alphabet, called ay and written in the Latin script.

plural a's · plural rare aes

1. The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

   But with some prelude of disparagement, / Read, mouthing out his hollow oes and aes, / Deep-chested music, and to this result.

   1842, Alfred Tennyson, “The Epic”, in Poems. […], volume II, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 2

   4 more examples

   This piece somewhat resembles an a. On the left is a man seated on the ground, with a dog between his legs, and a large bird of prey in his hands, which appears to be biting his head.

   1816, William Young Ottley, An Inquiry Into the Origin and Early History of Engraving […], volume II, London: […] John and Arthur Arch, […] by J. M'Creery, page 621

   Letters should be spelled as follows; aes, bees, cees, dees, ees, efs, gees, aitches, ies, jays, kays, els, ems, ens, oes, pees, ques, ars, esses, tees, ues, vees, ws or dubleyuz, exes, wyes, zees.

   [1906, Leigh H[adley] Irvine, “Abbreviations in General”, in The Magazine Style Code: A Manual For The Guidance Of Authors, Reporters And All Who Write, San Francisco, C.A.: Crown Publishing Company, pages 15–16

   St Lynas was chatting with a group of rebellious young college students one day, who decried the moral standards of the past. ¶ So St Lynas drew an 'a' on some paper, and asked them what it was. ¶ 'A' they said.

   1993, Frank Pagden, “Teaching”, in The Gospel According to St. Lynas, Tunbridge Wells: Mitre, →ISBN, unnumbered page

   Compare Lydia's signature on some of the work orders with the warning notes. The loop through the lowercase a is similar. See what I mean?

   2023, Amanda Stevens, Secret of Shutter Lake, Toronto, Ont.: Harlequin Intrigue, →ISBN, page 237

1. An unspecified example of (something); the indefinite article.First known use before 1150

   There was a man here looking for you yesterday.

   5 more examples

   He had another formidable difficulty in getting him across the river, where both horses stuck for a time in the mire, and Beatte was nearly unseated from his saddle by the force of the current and the struggles of his captive.

   1835, [Washington Irving], chapter XX, in A Tour on the Prairies (The Crayon Miscellany; no. 1), Philadelphia, Pa.: [Henry Charles] Carey, [Isaac] Lea, & Blanchard, →OCLC, page 151

   The young man thanked me, and took his leave with some little precipitation, after declining a glass of liquor.

   1859 December 13, Charles Dickens, “The Mortals in the House”, in Charles Dickens, editor, The Haunted House. The Extra Christmas Number of All the Year Round […], volume II, London: […] C[harles] Whiting, […], →OCLC, page 6, column 1

   Speaking as a servant, I am deeply indebted to you. Speaking as a man, I consider you to be a person whose head is full of maggots, and I take up my testimony against your experiment as a delusion and a snare.

   1868 January 4 – June 6, [William] Wilkie Collins, “(please specify the page) [Fourth Narrative. Extracted from the Journal of Ezra Jennings.]”, in The Moonstone. A Romance. […], volume III, London: Tinsley Brothers, […], published 1868, →OCLC, page 185

   With fresh material, taxonomic conclusions are leavened by recognition that the material examined reflects the site it occupied; a herbarium packet gives one only a small fraction of the data desirable for sound conclusions. Herbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get […]

   1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, “Preface”, in The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii

   Hoots the Owl: Yes a, fruit, is a , any, time, food!

   2005, Emily Kingsley (lyricist), Kevin Clash (voice actor), “A Cookie is a Sometime Food”, Sesame Street, season 36, Sesame Workshop

2. One; used before score, dozen, hundred, thousand, million, etc.

   I've seen it happen a hundred times.

   3 more examples

   Everybody drinks a lot in wartime, but it seemed to me that I must have drunk enough to float a couple of battleships.

   1945, Peter Cheyney, Sinister Errand, London: Collins, published 1952, page 8

   You've seen it a dozen times already.

   1999, Sara Hylton, Separate Lives, London: Piatkus, →ISBN, page 93

   By the time he gets onto a chair, the pristine powder snow below the lift has already been chopped up by a hundred tracks, and the line to get back up stretches the length of a football field.

   2024 February 27, “The economics of skiing in America”, in The Economist, London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 08 May 2024

3. Used in some phrases denoting quantity, such as a few, a good many, a couple, a little, a bit, etc.

   He's a bit thick, isn't he?

   4 more examples

   They asked me a few questions.

   But I was going to say, that while I was dawdling about abroad, I saw a good many talented young fellows making all sorts of sacrifices, and enduring real hardships, that they might realize their dreams. Splendid fellows, some of them, working like heroes, poor and friendless, but so full of courage, patience and ambition, that I was ashamed of myself, and longed to give them a right good lift.

   1869, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, “My Lord and Lady”, in Little Women: […], 2nd part, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC, page 315

   The main influence here is job tenure—the men had been at their specific jobs a good while longer than the women.

   1989, Robert T. Michael, Heidi I[rmgard] Hartmann, Brigid O'Farrell, editors, Pay Equity: Empirical Inquiries, Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, →ISBN, page 3, column 2

   Twenty years after the movie's release, we know a lot more about the Atlantic Ocean's circulation. Instruments deployed in the ocean starting in 2004 show that the Atlantic Ocean circulation has observably slowed over the past two decades, possibly to its weakest state in almost a millennium.

   2024 February 13, René M. van Westen, Henk A. Dijkstra, Michael Kliphuis, “If the Atlantic Ocean Loses Circulation, What Happens Next?”, in Scientific American, New York, N.Y.: Springer Nature America, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 Feb 2024

   1. Used before a numeral.

      There are a few hundred orders that need to be fulfilled by tomorrow.

      3 more examples

      The blues were eating leisurely, swimming about and opening their great mouths, spouting and filling their enormous stomachs with intense satisfaction. They had no idea of danger. There must have been about fifteen of them, peacefully feeding. One of them, its belly gorged probably with a few trillion plankton, seemed to be lying asleep on the surface.

      1934, Alan Villiers, Whalers of the Midnight Sun: […], New York, N.Y.; London: Charles Scribner's Sons, page 154

      The impact of hidden virality can't be stopped by retroactively banning a few thousand Twitter accounts; it is an iterative, memetic phenomenon that outpaces terms of service.

      2020 July 31, Brian Friedberg, “The Dark Virality of a Hollywood Blood-Harvesting Conspiracy”, in Wired, San Francisco, Calif.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 15 May 2024

      That was on the first day's walk. It took him until day three, after a good ten miles, to ask her out.

      2023, Don Winslow, City of Dreams, London: HarperCollins Publishers, →ISBN, page 332

4. Used in some adverbial phrases denoting the degree or extent of an action, such as a little, a bit, a lot, etc.

   The door was opened a little.

   3 more examples

   If, for example, you ask a child what he likes to do, he may say he doesn't know. However, if you watch him during free time, and note that he plays basketball a lot, you may infer that this is a high-probability behavior, and he finds it reinforcing.

   1978, Deane H. Shapiro, Jr., Precision Nirvana, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, Inc., →ISBN, page 104

   The bridge was shifted a bit to the east and rebuilt, this time with the shops of money-changers along both sides.

   2009, James H. S. McGregor, Paris From the Ground Up, Cambridge, M.A.; London: Belknap Press, →ISBN, page 163

   You don't need to go cold turkey to help your health. Even reducing a little bit can be beneficial, especially if you currently drink over the recommended limits.

   2023 January 13, Dana G. Smith, “Even a Little Alcohol Can Harm Your Health, Research Shows”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 10 May 2024

5. The same; one and the same. Used in phrases such as of a kind, birds of a feather, etc.

   They're two of a kind.

   1 more example

   We are of a mind on matters of morals.

6. Any; every; used before a noun which has become modified to limit its scope.

   A man who dies intestate leaves his children troubles and difficulties.

7. Any; used with a negative to indicate not a single one.

   It was so dark that we couldn't see a thing.

   4 more examples

   He fell all that way, and hasn't a bump on his head?

   No, it is impossible. My conscience would give me not a moment's peace if I let you go. I would never forgive myself.

   2001, Stephen Lawhead, The Mystic Rose Book (Celtic Crusades; III), London; […]: BCA, page 180

   When had my own feelings become so muddled and complicated? Before I take a single step, he catches my arm, turning me to him.

   2014, Sherry D. Ficklin, Queen of Someday: A Stolen Empire Novel, [Colony, T.X.]: Clean Teen Publishing, →ISBN, page 116

   My friend Cindy's husband, Michael Zahavi, a true chocoholic if there ever was one, adores this tart. In fact, when I visited their cottage up in Muskoka, Ontario one summer and brought this along as a treat, he got up in the middle of the night to nosh away at it, leaving us sleepyheads with nary a crumb the next day.

   2016, Daphna Rabinovitch, “Fudge Truffle Tart”, in The Baker in Me, Vancouver, B.C.: Whitecap Books, →ISBN, page 204

8. Used before an adjective that modifies a noun (singular or plural) delimited by a numeral.

   The holidays are a mere one week away.

   1 more example

   The lottery jackpot is worth a staggering three hundred million dollars.

9. One; someone named; used before a person's name, suggesting that the speaker knows little about the person other than the name.

   We've received an interesting letter from a Mrs. Miggins of London.

10. Used before an adjective modifying a person's name, typically used to emphasize that person's current condition or emotional state.

    "There, I think that's done it," declared a triumphant John, "we just need to try it with the bar now, where is it?"

    2016, David J. Bailey, The Storm, London: Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd., →ISBN, page 147

    2 more examples

    At Waterloo she asked George for £5 and said that she would go home by tube, and a relieved George watched her descend the Underground steps.

    1963, Robert Hancock, Ruth Ellis: The Last Woman To Be Hanged, London: Orion, published 1993, →ISBN, page 35

    "I will continue my campaign to fight for the rights of all Rwandans," a surprised but happy Rwigara told reporters after celebrating.

    2018, “Rwandan court drops all charges against opposition figure”, in Associated Press

11. Someone or something like; similar to; used before a proper noun to create an example out of it.

    The man is a regular Romeo.

    4 more examples

    The center of the village was becoming a Times Square.

    [Jules] Pécher actually sculpted a sort of Statue of Liberty for the centerpiece of the monument, but for the rest he thought it advisable to call in Van Rasbourgh, and Rodin thus became a ghost sculptor to a ghost sculptor.

    1987, Frederic V. Grunfeld, Rodin: A Biography, New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, →ISBN, page 88

    Billy fancied himself as a bit of a Han Solo, but he shook his head. 'Stop being a wuss.' He grinned. 'Your go.'

    2009, Ed Macy, Hellfire, London: Harper Press, →ISBN, page 134

    For the first 5 or 6 days after the eggs hatch, the mother spends most of her time keeping the chicks warm while the father provides most of their meals. All that work may be what prompts the female to leave the family. They share feeding duties more equally during the next week or 10 days, until the young leave the nest. Producing a second batch is easier if she skips the last grueling week or two of provisioning fledglings. She can recharge her batteries by moseying off and, while on vacation, looking for a new Casanova.

    2020, Laura Erickson, The Love Lives of Birds: Courting and Mating Rituals, North Adams, M.A.: Storey Publishing, →ISBN, page 81

1. To do with separation; In, into.First known use before 1150

   torn a pieces

2. To do with time; Each, per, in, on, by. Often occurs between two nouns, where the first noun occurs at the end of a verbal phrase.First known use before 1150

   I brush my teeth twice a day.

   2 more examples

   A Sundays

   c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene v]

   Patent requests for machine learning activities grew on average by 28 percent a year between 2013 and 2016, the study found.

   2019 February 3, “UN Study: China, US, Japan Lead World AI Development”, in Voice of America, archived from the original on 07 Feb 2019

3. To do with status; In.First known use before 1150

   To set the people a worke.

   King James Bible (II Chronicles 2:18)

4. archaicTo do with position or direction; In, on, at, by, towards, onto.First known use before 1150

   stand a tiptoe

5. archaicTo do with process, with a passive verb; In the course of, experiencing.First known use before 1150

   The times, they are a-changin'.

   1964, Bob Dylan, “The Times They Are a-Changin'”

6. archaicTo do with an action, an active verb; Engaged in.First known use 16th c.

   It was a doing.

   c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]

   1 more example

   Jacob, when he was a dying

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Hebrews 11:21

7. archaicTo do with an action/movement; To, into.First known use 16th c.
8. obsoleteTo do with method; In, with.First known use before 1150

   Stands here a purpose.

   c. 1589–1590 (date written), Christopher Marlo[we], edited by Tho[mas] Heywood, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Iew of Malta. […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Nicholas Vavasour, […], published 1633, →OCLC, (please specify the page)

9. obsoleteTo do with role or capacity; In.First known use before 1150

   a God’s name

alternative 'a · alternative 'a' · alternative ha · alternative ha'

1. dialectalslangHave (auxiliary verb).

   I'd a come, if you'd a asked.

   5 more examples

   So would I a done, by yonder Sunne, / If thou hadſt not come to my bed.

   c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shake-speare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and Iohn Trundell, published 1603, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene v], signature H2, recto

   "Well, I reckon it did, marm, for that shot would a gone a couple a inches deeper but for my old mammy's camphor bag," answered the cheerful philosopher.

   1863 May 22 – 1863 June 26, L[ouisa] M[ay] Alcott, “A Day”, in Hospital Sketches, Boston, Mass.: James Redpath, […], published August 1863, →OCLC, page 36

   He dropped below me, with the current, and by-and-by he come a-swinging up shore in the easy water, and he went by so close I could a reached out the gun and touched him.

   1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter VII, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC, page 54

   Oi'd a gen im a clout, if oi'd been theer.

   [1886, Robert Hollan, “A, prep.”, in A Glossary of Words Used in the County of Chester (English Dialect Society; XVI), London: Trübner & Co.

   They live in the river bottom. Don't you know a thing? I thought you must a seen them, since they was here all winter, cutting at the woods and burning brush.

   1964, John Ehle, The Land Breakers, New York, N.Y. […]: Harper & Row, Publishers, page 53

2. dialectalrareslangHad (auxiliary verb).

   I wisht you a seen 'im; fust he looked mighty gubious; then he begins ter laff. He'll git likened ter ridin' mighty briefly."

   1887 October, Octave Thanet [pseudonym; Alice French], “The Mortgage on Jeffy”, in Scribner's Magazine, volume II, number 4, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner's Sons, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 478, column 1

alternative 'a

1. obsolete outside England and Scotland dialectsHe, she, they: the third-person singular or plural nominative.

   Doctors, they knaws nowt, fur a [they] says what's nawways true.

   1864, Tennyson, N. Farmer, Old Style, st. 2

   1 more example

   He've a got a great venture on hand, but what a [it] be he tell'th no man.

   1855, Kingsley, W. Ho!, page 120 (edition of 1889)

   1. obsolete outside England and Scotland dialectsHe, the third-person singular nominative.

      A do veed amang th' lilies.

      1860, Kite, Sng. Sol., ii, 16

      4 more examples

      a’ brushes his hat o’ mornings.

      1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]

      Well! in a come [in he came]—KING GEORGE to town, / With doust and zweat az netmeg brown, / The hosses all in smoke;

      1795, Peter Pindar, The Royal Visit to Exeter, a Political Epistle: by John Ploughshare ... published by Peter Pindar, Esq, page 5

      "The amoighty's a taakin' o' you to 'issén, my friend," a said, […]

      1864, Tennyson, N. Farmer, Old Style, st. 7, version of 1917, Raymond Macdonald Alden, Alfred Tennyson, how to Know Him, page 226

      And, by your leave, for all the marvellous rich and sumptuous coat a weareth, he is very like a false jewel in a rich casing.

      1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 8

   2. obsolete outside England and Scotland dialectsShe, the third-person singular nominative.

      Did a do it!

      1876, Bound, Prov.

      2 more examples

      A wanted me to go with her.

      1790, Grose, MS. add. (M.)

      A's getting wambling on her pins [shaky on her legs].

      1883, Hardy, Tover, page 124 (edition of 1895)

alternative o' · alternative o

1. archaicslangOf.

   cloth a gold; time a day

   5 more examples

   The name of John a Gaunt.

   What time a day is it?

   c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]

   It’s six a clock.

   1598, Beniamin Ionson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Euery Man in His Humour. A Comœdie. […]”, in The Workes of Beniamin Ionson (First Folio), London: […] Will[iam] Stansby, published 1616, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)

   Two bottles 'a whiskey for the way

   1931, A. P. Carter, "When I'm Gone"

   Isis rode my mug like she was on a ten-inch dick, and as soon as she nutted I tossed her ass off a me and flipped her on her back, then fucked the shit outta her cause it was payback time.

   2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 152

alternative a'

1. Scotlandnot comparableAll.First known use ca. 1350—1470

alternative a'

1. Scotlandnot comparableAll.First known use ca. 1350—1470

alternative 'a

1. pronunciation spellingPronunciation spelling of to.

   The man walks toward me. “I met that asshole. He’s tryin’ a sell us a bag a bullshit.”

   2007, BK Loren, “Got Tape?”, in Barry Lopez, editor, The Future of Nature: Writing on a Human Ecology from Orion Magazine, Minneapolis, Minn.: Milkweed Editions, →ISBN, page 43

   2 more examples

   James was going with his mother to attend the ceremonies at which his oldest sister in the convent would make perpetual vows. Being asked where he was going, he answered, “I’m goin’ a see my sister make percapital vowels.”

   1923 January, “The Sunshine of Childhood (Contributed)”, in Benedict Brown, editor, The Grail, volume 4, number 9, St. Meinrad, Ind.: The Abbey Press, page 284, column 2

   Don’tcha try deny it, / ’Cause Hose knows you dyin’ a try it— […] Knows you out tryin’ a buy it, / But Hose only gives it free

   2012 October 23, Tom Wolfe, Back to Blood: A Novel, Large Print edition, New York, N.Y.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 66

1. contractionAfrican-American VernacularUsed to express a future action; going to.

   I'm a go see what's going on out there.

   4 more examples

   "Sure, Billy, I'm a run downstairs to the machine and get me a pack of bigarettes," he said, taking off with his Melody.

   2010, Todd Bridges, Killing Willis: From Diff'rent Strokes to the Mean Streets to the Life I Always Wanted, New York, N.Y.: Touchstone Books, →ISBN, page 146

   Ain't nothin' in the house to eat and now that we has Mr. Alex staying with us a few days I'm a need to buy some groceries so yous two can have the house to yo'self 'til I get back.

   2012, Bertrand E. Brown, Sylvia's Dilemma: A Novel, →ISBN, page 95

   I'm a head out there now and take a look.

   2018, Monica Jeremie, Married to a Dade County Bully 2, Urban Chapters Publications, →ISBN, page 85

   "The Glock 26 and the motherfucking, uh, the Hi-Point. I'm a try to get the both of them," another said.

   2021, Ioan Grillo, Blood Gun Money: How America Arms Gangs and Cartels, New York, N.Y. […]: Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 141

1. abbreviationcontractiondialectalobsoleterareContraction of and.

   By cock a pie and Mous-foot Dent bring's in, / Examples to express forbidden Sin:

   1655, William Barton, Man's Monitor, or, the Free-school of Virtue; Holding Forth the Duties Required and Sins Forbidden in the Two Tables of the Law., London: W.D. for T. Underhill, unnumbered page; republished in Early English Books Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: Text Creation Partnership, p. 2011

   2 more examples

   Thee lace ma? Chem a laced well-a-fine aready.—Zey wone word more, and chell breſh tha, chell make thy boddize pilmee.

   1746, “Exmoor Scolding: Or, a Devonſhire Dialogue:”, in The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, volume XVI, London: Edw. Cave, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 353, column 2

   4. as if. "I'll gi ye a dunt i' the hid 'a ye dew so no more." This is equivalent to the "an if" of some of our old writers.

   1823, Edward Moor, Suffolk Words and Phrases: Or, An Attempt to Collect the Lingual Localisms of that County, London: J. Loder, page 2

1. Distance from leading edge to aerodynamic center.
2. specific absorption coefficient
3. chemistryspecific rotation
4. biologyallele (recessive)

1. crosswordingacross

   Do you have the answer for 23a?

2. USalternativeAlternative spelling of a.m. (“ante meridiem”) or am

1. alternativeAlternative form of -a (“empty syllable added to songs, poetry, verse and other speech”).

   “I show a you right a here I can fuck a you.” “Is she crazy?” I asked Wyman.

   2001, Louis F. Newcomb, Car Salesman: A Legacy, iUniverse, page 91

1. The name of the Cyrillic script letter А/а.

1. ah; er (sound of hesitation)

   1 more example

   "We will resume yesterday's discourse, young ladies," said he, "and you shall each read a page by turns; so that Miss a—Miss Short may have an opportunity of hearing you"; and the poor girls began to spell a long dismal sermon delivered at Bethesda Chapel, Liverpool, on behalf of the mission for the Chickasaw Indians.

   1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC

alternative uh

1. informalentertainmentThe fourth semiquaver (sixteenth note) of a beat.

   The pianist played a C on the a of four.

lowercase a · plural As · plural A's · alternative ·

1. letteruppercaseThe first letter of the English alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

   Apple starts with A.

   1 more example

   Boxer could not get beyond the letter D. He would trace out A, B, C, D, in the dust with his great hoof […]

   1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC

lowercase a · plural As · plural A's · alternative ·

1. uppercaseThe first numeral symbol of the English alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

   Item A is "foods", item B is "drinks".

1. A rank, normally the highest rank, on any of various scales that assign letters.

   In the UK, the highest social grade is A – upper middle class.

   2 more examples

   We assign each item inspected a rating from A through G, depending on various factors.

   The only standard brassiere cup size smaller than the A cup is the AA cup.

2. educationThe highest letter grade assigned (disregarding plusses and minuses).

   I was so happy to get an A on that test.

   1 more example

   Darcy's pretty sharp. She pulls A's.

   1999, W. Peter Iliff, Varsity Blues, spoken by Mox (James Van Der Beek)

3. entertainmentA tone three fifths above C in the cycle of fifths; the sixth tone of the C major scale; the first note of the minor scale of A minor; the reference tone that occurs at exactly 440 Hz; the printed or written note A.

   Orchestras traditionally tune to a concert A.

4. entertainmentA major chord having the notes A–C♯–E as the root, third, and fifth; the major scale with A as its keynote.

   He ordered Chet's guitar course COD Makes A, E, workin' on B Digs C&W an' R&B An' me an' a chimpanzee agree That one day soon he'll be A celebrity.

   1969, “Gitarzan”, Ray Stevens, Bill Everette (lyrics), performed by Ray Stevens

5. medicineA blood type that has a specific antigen that aggravates the immune response in people with type B antigen in their blood. People with this blood type may receive blood from type A or type O but cannot receive blood from AB or B.

   My blood type is A negative.

6. chemistryMass number.
7. human sciencesA universal affirmative suggestion.
8. abbreviationhistoricalAbbreviation of adulterer or adulteress, used as a human brand.

   Hester Prynne, the historical character in The Scarlet Letter, was exposed and convicted by neighborhood gossip. [...] Gossip continues to brand some young ladies in small towns with this symbolic letter, but in our larger cities one rarely sees young ladies branded with an "A".

   1966 July 30, Ralph McGill, “Today's students aim for humanistic values”, in Latrobe Bulletin, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, page 6

9. Allele dominant.
10. USalternativeAlternative spelling of A.M. and AM (“ante meridiem”).

1. Ace. (including in card games)
2. Acre.
3. Adult; as used in film rating.
4. Ammeter.
5. nonstandardnatural sciencesAngstrom.

   Synonyms: Å

6. Answer.
7. hobbiesAn assist.
8. LondonUKArsehole.
9. engineeringAtom.

   A-bomb

1. engineeringAtom; atomic.
2. Asexual.

   Suppose that there are S sexual and A asexual species in some taxon, with S + A = N.

   1994, M. G. Bulmer, Theoretical Evolutionary Ecology, page 274

   2 more examples

   A S A S Generations. - A, asexual, produces S, sexual, from fertilized ovum of which A again arises.

   1897, The Columbian Cyclopedia, volume 13

   A, asexual; S, sexual stages; A > S, A < S and A / S represent the relative abundance of transcription between these two stages […]

   2022, Jing-wen Lin et al., Malaria Targeting Toolkit: Host-Parasite Interaction, page 135