at
Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.
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2 characters
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English
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Detailed reference entry for the English word "at", 2-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "at" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "at" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
at is aEnglishprep. It means: In, near, or in the general vicinity of (a particular place). Pronounced /æt/. It ranks #21 in English word frequency. Often confused with aw and AU.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | at |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Prep |
| IPA | /æt/ |
| Letters | 2 |
| Frequency rank | #21 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency rank visualization
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for at is 2 letters long, classified as aprep, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /æt/. Corpus data places it at rank #21 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language.Wiktionary records 21 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No frequent misspelling variants are recorded for at in our index, suggesting the orthography either follows predictable English patterns or the word is uncommon enough that typo corpora lack signal.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "aw", "AU", "AZ", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Germanic *at Old English æt Middle English at English at From Middle English at, from Old English æt (“at, near, by, toward”), from Proto-West Germanic *at, from Proto-Germanic *at (“at, near, to”), from Proto-… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is at, spelled A-T, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1In, near, or in the general vicinity of (a particular place).
- 2In, near, or in the general vicinity of (a particular place).
- 3In, near, or in the general vicinity of (a particular place).
- 4In, near, or in the general vicinity of (a particular place).
- 5Present or taking place during (an event).
- 6Indicating time of occurrence, especially an instant of time, or a period of time relatively short in context or from the speaker’s perspective.
- 7Indicating time of occurrence, especially an instant of time, or a period of time relatively short in context or from the speaker’s perspective.
- 8In the direction of; towards; (often implied to be in a hostile or careless manner).
- 9Indicating action bearing upon something, especially continued or repeated action.
- 10In response or reaction to.
- 11Occupied in (activity).
- 12In a state of.
- 13Subject to.
- 14Denotes a price.
- 15Indicates a position on a scale or in a series.
- 16In certain phrases, used to indicate the manner in which something happens or is done.
- 17Indicates a specific speed or rate that is maintained by something.
- 18Indicates a means or method.
- 19On the subject of; regarding.
- 20Bothering, irritating, causing discomfort to
- 21Also used in various other idiomatic combinations: at a pinch, at all, at fault, at pains, at risk, at that, etc.; see the individual entries.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Germanic *at Old English æt Middle English at English at From Middle English at, from Old English æt (“at, near, by, toward”), from Proto-West Germanic *at, from Proto-Germanic *at (“at, near, to”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd (“near, at”). Cognate with Scots at (“at”), North Frisian äät, äit, et, it (“at”), Danish at (“to”), Swedish åt (“for, toward”), Norwegian åt (“to”), Faroese at (“at, to, toward”), Icelandic að (“to, towards”), Gothic 𐌰𐍄 (at, “at”), Latin ad (“to, near”).
This word in other languages
Frequency rank: #21 in English
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Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter A in our English index: