Ab Definition & Meaning

American

British

Etymology

Examples

Ab 1 American [ahb, ahv] / ɑb, ɑv /

noun

1. Av.

Ab 2 American Symbol.

1. Chemistry. alabamine.

2. Immunology. antibody.

AB 3 American

abbreviation

1. Nautical. able seaman.

2. airborne.

3. U.S. Air Force. Airman Basic.

4. Alberta, Canada (approved for postal use).

5. antiballistic; antiballistic missile.

AB 4 American Symbol, Physiology.

1. a major blood group usually enabling a person whose blood is of this type to donate blood to persons of type AB and to receive blood from persons of type O, A, B, or AB.

ab- 5 American

1. a formal element occurring in loanwords from Latin, where it meant “away from”.

   abdicate; abolition.

ab. 6 American

abbreviation

1. about.

2. Baseball. (times) at bat.

A.B. 7 American

abbreviation

1. Bachelor of Arts.

A.B. 8 American

abbreviation

1. Nautical. able seaman.

2. Baseball. (times) at bat. Also a.b.

AB 1 British

abbreviation

1. Also: a.b.. able-bodied seaman

2. (in the US) Bachelor of Arts

3. (esp in postal addresses) Alberta (Canada)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

symbol

1. a human blood type of the ABO group, containing both the A antigen and the B antigen

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Ab 2 British / æb /

noun

1. a variant of Av

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 ab- 3 British

prefix

1. away from; off; outside of; opposite to

   abnormal

   abaxial

   aboral

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 ab- 4 British

prefix

1. denoting a cgs unit of measurement in the electromagnetic system

   abvolt

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ab-5

< Latin ab (preposition and prefix) from, away, cognate with Greek apó, Sanskrit ápa, German ab, English of 1, off

Origin of A.B.7

< New Latin, Medieval Latin Artium Baccalaureus

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Some flirted only briefly with Ab Ex ideas before moving on.

From The Wall Street Journal

So it felt like Ab to Abby was a very cute jump.

From Salon

“Ab ki baar, 400 paar” went his party’s slogan — this time, 400 seats in the lower house of Parliament, a staggering majority.

From New York Times

"I always say to her, you'll change the world Ab. She's a unique kid."

From BBC

More to the point, while loose, brushy, sometimes energetic paint-handling is on vibrant display, as it was in the Ab Ex heyday, the way he puts that technique to work is what matters most.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.