A-c or ac?
a-c is an adjective meaning “acromioclavicular”; ac is a noun meaning “account; money of account”. Use a-c as an adjective and ac as a noun (ac is also an adjective: “Initialism of acromioclavicular”). a-c is written with a hyphen and ac as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between a-c and ac?
| a-c | ac | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | adjective, noun, adverb, phrase | noun, adjective, adverb, phrase, verb, prefix, suffix |
| Meaning | acromioclavicular axiocervical ante Christum, before Christ | account; money of account alicyclic ante cibum, before meals |
| Example | a cheque marked a/c payee may not be deposited in a bank account which does not belong to the named payee | AC joint; AC separation |
| Forms | none | acs |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /æk/ /ək/ |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | 18 times per million words |
Sources: a-c and ac in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of a-c and ac
a-c
- 1
Abbreviation of antecubital
- 2
Abbreviation of account
a cheque marked a/c payee may not be deposited in a bank account which does not belong to the named payee
- 3
Abbreviation of account
- 4
acromioclavicular
- 5
ante Christum, before Christ
- 6
adrenal cortex
- 7
IndiaInitialism of after compliments: marking the omitted formalities of native compliments, in official versions of native letters
- 8
Initialism of alternating current
ac
- 1
Initialism of absolute ceiling
- 2
Initialism of acromioclavicular
AC joint; AC separation
- 3
Initialism of anno Christi (in the year of Christ)
- 4
Initialism of all clear (as in button on electronic calculator)
- 5
Initialism of air-condition
- 6
account; money of account
- 7
ante cibum, before meals
- 8
slangThe Acura Legend automobile
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, a-c or ac?
a-c is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; ac 18 times per million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).