A vs. An — What's the Difference?
Difference Between A and An
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Definitions
A
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the modern English alphabet and the ISO basic Latin alphabet. Its name in English is a (pronounced ), plural aes.
An
The form of the indefinite article used before words beginning with a vowel sound.
A
Used when mentioning someone or something for the first time in a text or conversation
It has been an honour to meet you
A man came out of the room
An
And if; if
"an it please your majesty / To hunt the panther and the hart with me" (Shakespeare).
A
Used to indicate membership of a class of people or things
He is a lawyer
This car is a BMW
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An
One
A
In, to, or for each; per (used when expressing rates or ratios)
Typing 60 words a minute
A move to raise petrol prices by 3p a litre
An
(archaic) If
A
The first letter of the alphabet.
An
(archaic) So long as.
An it harm none, do what ye will.
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A
A shape like that of a capital A
An A-shape
An
(archaic) As if; as though.
A
The sixth note of the diatonic scale of C major. The A above middle C is usually used as the basis for tuning and in modern music has a standard frequency of 440 Hz.
An
The first letter of the Georgian alphabet, ა (Mkhedruli), Ⴀ (Asomtavruli) or ⴀ (Nuskhuri).
A
The first letter of the modern English alphabet.
An
In each; to or for each; per.
I was only going twenty miles an hour.
A
Any of the speech sounds represented by the letter a.
An
This word is properly an adjective, but is commonly called the indefinite article. It is used before nouns of the singular number only, and signifies one, or any, but somewhat less emphatically. In such expressions as "twice an hour," "once an age," a shilling an ounce (see 2d A, 2), it has a distributive force, and is equivalent to each, every.
A
The first in a series.
An
If; - a word used by old English authors.
Nay, an thou dalliest, then I am thy foe.
A
Something shaped like the letter A.
An
An associate degree in nursing
A
A The best or highest in quality or rank
Grade A milk.
A
The sixth tone in the scale of C major or the first tone in the relative minor scale.
A
A key or scale in which A is the tonic.
A
A written or printed note representing this tone.
A
A string, key, or pipe tuned to the pitch of this tone.
A
A One of the four major blood groups in the ABO system. Individuals with this blood group have the A antigen on the surface of their red blood cells, and the anti-B antibody in their blood serum.
A
In every; to each; per
Once a month.
One dollar a pound.
A
To do with separation; In, into.
Torn a pieces.
A
To do with time; Each, per, in, on, by.
I brush my teeth twice a day.
A
To do with status; In.
A
(archaic) To do with position or direction; In, on, at, by, towards, onto.
Stand a tiptoe.
A
(archaic) To do with process, with a passive verb; In the course of, experiencing.
A
(archaic) To do with an action, an active verb; Engaged in.
A
(archaic) To do with an action/movement; To, into.
A
(obsolete) To do with method; In, with.
A
(obsolete) To do with role or capacity; In.
A God’s name.
A
Of.
The name of John a Gaunt.
A
Have.
I'd a come, if you'd a asked.
A
He, or sometimes she, it. en
A
All.
A
All.
A
The first letter of the English and of many other alphabets. The capital A of the alphabets of Middle and Western Europe, as also the small letter (a), besides the forms in Italic, black letter, etc., are all descended from the old Latin A, which was borrowed from the Greek Alpha, of the same form; and this was made from the first letter ( ) of the Phœnician alphabet, the equivalent of the Hebrew Aleph, and itself from the Egyptian origin. The Aleph was a consonant letter, with a guttural breath sound that was not an element of Greek articulation; and the Greeks took it to represent their vowel Alpha with the ä sound, the Phœnician alphabet having no vowel symbols.
A
The name of the sixth tone in the model major scale (that in C), or the first tone of the minor scale, which is named after it the scale in A minor. The second string of the violin is tuned to the A in the treble staff. - A sharp (A$) is the name of a musical tone intermediate between A and B. - A flat (A$) is the name of a tone intermediate between A and G.
O fair Creseide, the flower and A per seOf Troy and Greece.
A
An adjective, commonly called the indefinite article, and signifying one or any, but less emphatically.
A
In each; to or for each; as, "twenty leagues a day", "a hundred pounds a year", "a dollar a yard", etc.
A
Of.
A
A barbarous corruption of have, of he, and sometimes of it and of they.
A
An expletive, void of sense, to fill up the meter
A merry heart goes all the day,Your sad tires in a mile-a.
A
In; on; at; by.
A
In process of; in the act of; into; to; - used with verbal substantives in -ing which begin with a consonant. This is a shortened form of the preposition an (which was used before the vowel sound); as in a hunting, a building, a begging.
A
The blood group whose red cells carry the A antigen
A
A metric unit of length equal to one ten billionth of a meter (or 0.0001 micron); used to specify wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation
A
Any of several fat-soluble vitamins essential for normal vision; prevents night blindness or inflammation or dryness of the eyes
A
One of the four nucleotides used in building DNA; all four nucleotides have a common phosphate group and a sugar (ribose)
A
(biochemistry) purine base found in DNA and RNA; pairs with thymine in DNA and with uracil in RNA
A
The basic unit of electric current adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites;
A typical household circuit carries 15 to 50 amps
A
The 1st letter of the Roman alphabet
