Definition of "a"

a¹

/ˈeɪ/

letter
lowercase, uppercase A, plural as or a's
1. The first letter of the English alphabet, written in the Latin script.
numeral
lower case, upper case A
1. The ordinal number first, derived from this letter of the English alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.
noun
plural aes
1. The name of the Latin script letter A / a.

a²

/ˈeɪ/

article
indefinite
1. One; any indefinite example of.
  Quotations
  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, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, New York, N.Y.: Columbia University Press, page vii
  Hoots the Owl: Yes a, fruit, is a [sic], any, time, food!
  2005, Emily Kingsley (lyricist), Kevin Clash (voice actor), “A Cookie is a Sometime Food”, Sesame Street, season 36, Sesame Workshop
  Anna, do you have a pen? — Yes. I have a pen in my bag. I have a (stressed) … Audio (US)(file)
  2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
2. One; used before score, dozen, hundred, thousand, million, etc.
3. Used in some phrases denoting quantity, such as a few, a good many, a couple, a little (for an uncountable noun), etc.
4. Used in some adverbial phrases denoting degree or extent, such as a little, a bit, a lot, etc.
5. The same; one and the same. Used in phrases such as of a kind, birds of a feather, etc.
6. Any; every; used before a noun which has become modified to limit its scope.
7. Any; used with a negative to indicate not a single one.
8. Used before an adjective that modifies a noun (singular or plural) delimited by a numeral.
9. One; someone named; used before a person's name, suggesting that the speaker knows little about the person other than the name.
10. Used before an adjective modifying a person's name.
  Quotations
  "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.

a³

/ə/

preposition
1. To do with separation; In, into.
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.
  Quotations
  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, [Act IV, scene v]
  Audio (US)(file)
  2019 February 3, “UN Study: China, US, Japan Lead World AI Development”, in Voice of America‎, archived from the original on 7 February 2019:Patent requests for machine learning activities grew on average by 28 percent a year between 2013 and 2016, the study found.
3. To do with status; In.
  Quotations
  To set the people a worke.
  King James Bible (II Chronicles 2:18)
4. (archaic) To do with position or direction; In, on, at, by, towards, onto.
5. (archaic) To do with process, with a passive verb; In the course of, experiencing.
  Quotations
  The times, they are a-changin'.
  1964, Bob Dylan (lyrics and music), “The Times They Are a-Changin'”
6. (archaic) To do with an action, an active verb; Engaged in.
  Quotations
  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, [Act IV, scene ii]
  Jacob, when he was a dying
  1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], Hebrews 11:21
7. (archaic) To do with an action/movement; To, into.
8. (obsolete) To do with method; In, with.
  Quotations
  Stands here a purpose.
  c. 1589–1590, Christopher Marlo[we], edited by Tho[mas] Heywood, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Ievv of Malta. […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Nicholas Vavasour, […], published 1633, Act 4, [scene 3]
9. (obsolete) To do with role or capacity; In.

a⁴

/ə/

verb
1. (archaic or slang) Have.
  Quotations
  Oi'd a gen im a clout, if oi'd been theer.
  1884, Robert Holland, M.R.A.C., A Glossary of Words Used in the County of Chester, volume Part I--A to F., London: English Dialect Society, page 1
  So would I a done by yonder ſunne?And thou hadſt not come to my bed.
  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, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)

a⁵

/ə/

pronoun
1. (obsolete outside England and Scotland dialects) He, or sometimes she, it. (clarification of this definition is needed)
  Quotations
  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, [Act III, scene ii]

a⁶

/ə/

preposition
1. (archaic or slang) Of.
  Quotations
  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, [Act I, scene ii]
  It’s six a clock.
  1598, Benjamin Jonson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Euery Man in His Humour. A Comœdie. […]”, in The Workes of Ben Jonson (First Folio), London: […] Will[iam] Stansby, published 1616, (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, page 152

a⁷

/ɔ/

adverb
not comparable
1. (chiefly Scotland) All.
adjective
not comparable
1. (chiefly Scotland) All.

a⁸

symbol

a⁹

adverb
1. (crosswords) across
2. (chiefly US) Alternative spelling of a.m. (“ante meridiem”) or am

a¹⁰

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

a¹¹

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

a¹²

interjection
1. ah; er (sound of hesitation)
  Quotations
  "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

Definition of "a"

a1

letter

numeral

noun

a2

article

Quotations

Quotations

a3

preposition

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

a4

verb

Quotations

a5

pronoun

Quotations

a6

preposition

Quotations

a7

adverb

adjective

a8

symbol

a9

adverb

a10

particle

Quotations

a11

noun

a12

interjection

Quotations

a¹

a²

a³

a⁴

a⁵

a⁶

a⁷

a⁸

a⁹

a¹⁰

a¹¹

a¹²