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PlainSpell

a

/æ/letter, number, noun, article, preposition, verb, pronoun, adverb, adjective, particle, contraction, symbol, interjection

a is spelled A: one letter and one syllable. It appears 22,909 times per million words in written English, the 5th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a letter, a means “The first letter of the English alphabet, written in the Latin script” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in a?

Letters1: A
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing22,909 times per million words; the 5th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is a?

A appears 22,909 times per million words in written English, the 5th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce a?

  • /æ/
  • /ɑː/
  • /eɪ/

As an article (“An unspecified example of (something); the indefinite…”): /eɪ/, /ə/.

As a preposition (“To do with separation; In, into”): /ə/.

As a pronoun (“He, she, they: the third-person singular or plural…”): /ʌ/, /ɑ/.

As a preposition (“Of”): /ə/.

As an adverb (“All”): /ɔ/.

As a noun (“The fourth semiquaver (sixteenth note) of a beat”): /ˈʌ/.

A has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-a.ogg, En-us-a-(1).ogg, En-us-a-(2).ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with a

Also written: a.m., ay, ha, uh.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with a?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as a from its last stressed vowel (/eɪ/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of a

  • ·
  • i-
  • as plural
  • a's plural
  • aes plural, rare
  • 'a
  • 'a'
  • ha
  • ha'
  • o'
  • o
  • a'
  • uh
  • à
  • ãs plural
  • ã's plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does a mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

letter

  1. 1

    The first letter of the English alphabet, written in the Latin script.

number

  1. 1

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

noun

  1. 1

    The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

  2. 2

    The name of the Cyrillic script letter А/а.

  3. 3

    informalThe fourth semiquaver (sixteenth note) of a beat.

    The pianist played a C on the a of four.

article

  1. 1

    An unspecified example of (something); the indefinite article.

    There was a man here looking for you yesterday.

  2. 2

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

    I've seen it happen a hundred times.

  3. 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. 4

    Used before a numeral.

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

  5. 5

    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.

  6. 6

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

    We are of a mind on matters of morals.

  7. 7

    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.

  8. 8

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

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

preposition

  1. 1

    To do with separation; In, into.

    torn a pieces

  2. 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.

    I brush my teeth twice a day.

  3. 3

    To do with status; In.

    To set the people a worke.

  4. 4

    archaicTo do with position or direction; In, on, at, by, towards, onto.

    stand a tiptoe

  5. 5

    archaicTo do with process, with a passive verb; In the course of, experiencing.

  6. 6

    archaicTo do with an action, an active verb; Engaged in.

  7. 7

    archaicTo do with an action/movement; To, into.

  8. 8

    obsoleteTo do with method; In, with.

  9. 9

    archaicslangOf.

    The name of John a Gaunt.

verb

  1. 1

    slangHave (auxiliary verb).

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

  2. 2

    rareslangHad (auxiliary verb).

pronoun

  1. 1

    He, she, they: the third-person singular or plural nominative.

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

  2. 2

    He, the third-person singular nominative.

    A do veed amang th' lilies.

  3. 3

    She, the third-person singular nominative.

    A wanted me to go with her.

adverb

  1. 1

    ScotlandAll.

  2. 2

    across

    Do you have the answer for 23a?

  3. 3

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

adjective

  1. 1

    ScotlandAll.

contraction

  1. 1

    Used to express a future action; going to.

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

symbol

  1. 1

    Distance from leading edge to aerodynamic center.

  2. 2

    specific absorption coefficient

  3. 3

    specific rotation

  4. 4

    allele (recessive)

interjection

  1. 1

    ah; er (sound of hesitation)

letter

as A
  1. 1

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

    Apple starts with A.

number

as A
  1. 1

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

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

symbol

as A
  1. 1

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

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

  2. 2

    The highest letter grade assigned (disregarding plusses and minuses).

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

  3. 3

    A 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; the scale with A as its keynote.

    Orchestras traditionally tune to a concert A.

  4. 4

    A 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.

  5. 5

    Mass number.

  6. 6

    A universal affirmative suggestion.

  7. 7

    Abbreviation of adulterer or adulteress, used as a human brand.

  8. 8

    Allele dominant.

noun

as A
  1. 1

    Ace. (including in card games)

  2. 2

    Acre.

  3. 3

    Adult; as used in film rating.

  4. 4

    Ammeter.

  5. 5

    nonstandardAngstrom.

  6. 6

    Answer.

  7. 7

    An assist.

  8. 8

    Asexual.

adjective

as A
  1. 1

    Atom; atomic.

symbol

as ä
  1. 1

    A dictionary transcription for the PALM vowel

symbol

as ā
  1. 1

    A dictionary transcription for the FACE vowel.

symbol

as ă
  1. 1

    A dictionary transcription for the TRAP vowel

symbol

as â
  1. 1

    An element of the digraph âr, a dictionary transcription for the SQUARE vowel

letter

as ã
  1. 1

    obsoleteThe letter a with a tilde, replacing the sequence an or am.

    commãd – command

symbol

as ȧ
  1. 1

    A dictionary transcription for the BATH vowel

symbol

as ạ
  1. 1

    datedAn orthographic ⟨a⟩ with a diacritic that marks it as being the THOUGHT vowel, as in the word "call".

particle

  1. 1

    Pronunciation spelling of to.

  2. 2

    Alternative 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.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

A in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
FrenchA (playing card), a- (not, without, opposite of), a (first ordering symbol), par (per; each (time unit)), h (across (crossword clue notation; as in 23a)), euh (sound of hesitation)
GermanA (playing card), a- (not, without, opposite of), a (first ordering symbol), pro, den, das (per; each (time unit))
PortugueseA (ás) (playing card), a- (not, without, opposite of), o, a, por (per; each (time unit)), á (name of the letter A, a)
Spanisha-, an- (not, without, opposite of), a (first ordering symbol), al, a la (per; each (time unit)), H (across (crossword clue notation; as in 23a))

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does a come from?

The letter name is from Middle English ā, from Old French, ultimately from Latin ā. Use of the Latin letter in (Old) English displaced the futhorc letter ᚪ (a) beginning in the 7th century, and partially also ᚫ (æ).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after a