short a

noun

The vowel sound in the English words cat and rack, usually represented by /æ/ or /a/. (The presence of a short vowel is sometimes signaled in spelling by the doubling of a consonant after it, such as in batting as contrasted with bating.)

Similar
flat a
Opposite
long abroad a
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounshort a (plural short a's)

plural short a's

  1. phonicsThe vowel sound in the English words cat and rack, usually represented by /æ/ or /a/. (The presence of a short vowel is sometimes signaled in spelling by the doubling of a consonant after it, such as in batting as contrasted with bating.)

    Antonyms: long a

  2. UKespeciallyhuman sciencesThe vowel sound in the English words grass and castle when pronounced with a near-open front unrounded vowel (/æ/); associated with northern England accents.

    Synonyms: flat a · Antonyms: broad a, long a

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe vowel sound in the English words cat and rack, usually represented by /æ/ or /a/. (The presence of a short vowel is sometimes signaled in spelling by the doubling of a consonant after it, such as in batting as contrasted with bating.)

Opposite
long a

nounThe vowel sound in the English words grass and castle when pronounced with a near-open front unrounded vowel (/æ/); associated with northern England accents.

Similar
flat a
Opposite
broad along a
Cite this entry
APA

short a. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/short%20a

MLA

“short a.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/short%20a. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “short a,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/short%20a.

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