A
A [A] noun, symbol, abbreviation BrE [eɪ] NAmE [eɪ]
noun (also a)(pl. As, A's, a'sBrE [eɪz] ; NAmE [eɪz] )
1. countable, uncountable the first letter of the English alphabet
•‘Apple’ begins with (an) A/‘A’.
2. Acountable, uncountable (music)the 6th note in the ↑scale of C ↑major
3. countable, uncountable the highest mark/grade that a student can get for a piece of work or course of study
•She got (an) A in/for Biology.
•He had straight A's (= nothing but A's) all through high school.
4. Auncountable used to represent the first of two or more possibilities
•Shall we go for plan A or plan B?
5. Auncountable used to represent a person, for example in an imagined situation or to hide their identity
•Assume A knows B is guilty.
see also ↑A-frame, ↑A level, ↑A-road
Idioms: ↑from A to B ▪ ↑from A to Z
symbol
1. used in Britain before a number to refer to a particular important road
•the A34 to Newbury
2. used (but not in the US) before numbers which show standard ↑metric sizes of paper
•a sheet of A4 paper (= 297×210mm)
•A3 (= 420×297mm)
•A5 (= 210×148mm)
abbreviation
(in writing) ↑amp
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