ab
A·B/æb/noun, verb, preposition, adverb
ab is spelled A-B: 2 letters and 2 syllables (A·B). It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,456th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ab means “Clipping of abdominal muscle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ab is abs.
How many letters and syllables are in ab?
| Letters | 2: A-B |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: A·B |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,456th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; 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 ab?
Ab appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,456th 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 ab?
- /æb/
Ab has 2 syllables, split A·B in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ab.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with ab
Sounds like: abb (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with ab?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as ab from its last stressed vowel (/æb/):
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 ab
- a-
- abs-
- abs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- abbing participle, present
- abbed participle, past
- ib
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ab mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
informalClipping of abdominal muscle .
When possible, do your ab workout on a day when you're not training a major muscle group […] .
- 2
slangAn abscess caused by injecting an illegal drug, usually heroin.
- 3
USThe early stages of; the beginning process; the start.
- 4
Abbreviation of abortion.
verb
- 1
informalTo abseil.
- 2
Abbreviation of abort.
noun
- 1
Initialism of able seaman or able-bodied seaman.
In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires– A.B. means an able-bodied seaman […]
- 2
Initialism of afterburner.
- 3
Initialism of aid to the blind.
- 4
Initialism of airbase.
- 5
Abbreviation of alkylbenzene.
- 6
Initialism of antibody.
- 7
Initialism of artificial breeding.
- 8
Initialism of assembly bill.
adjective
- 1
Initialism of airborne.
- 2
Initialism of antiballistic.
- 3
Initialism of at bat.
noun
- 1
Symbol for antibody.
- 2
datedIn Egyptian belief, the heart and will and conscience of a person, especially that of the recently deceased which proceeds to the afterlife and is weighed as evidence during his or her judgement.
- 3
datedAn Ancient Egyptian amulet in the shape of a heart (ib).
- 4
Abbreviation of Abbot.
preposition
- 1
Abbreviation of about.
adverb
- 1
Abbreviation of about.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ab in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense abdominal muscle:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | abdo |
| German | Bauchmuskeln |
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.