: father

Pa

2 of 6

abbreviation (1)

1
pascal
2
Pennsylvania

Pa

3 of 6

symbol

protactinium
plural PAs
: public-address system
He perks up when the name of his town comes over the PA.Colson Whitehead
After they'd mustered at their tables, before saying grace, a staff sergeant read the manifest over the PA.Stewart O'Nan
Then came the announcement over the news, over the radio and over the PAs at schools: The school board had canceled school until further notice …Daniel Thigpen

PA

6 of 6

abbreviation (2)

1
Pennsylvania
2
chiefly British per annum
3
personal assistant
4
power amplifier
5
power of attorney
6
press agent
7
professional association
8
public address
… retail store services featuring … public address (PA) systems …US Fed News
9
purchasing agent

Examples of pa in a Sentence

Noun (1) Pa, can I go out? I cherish my memories of the times that I went fishing with my pa.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
During the premiere of the HBO series’ fourth and final season, Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun) commits a social faux pas by bringing a date to Roy family patriarch Logan’s birthday party — where her Burberry tote incites teasing from Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen). Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 13 Jan. 2024 Launched in 1993, City Ballet of San Diego pas produced more than 60 of Elizabeth Wistrich’s ballets. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Oct. 2023 Photos of the faux pas quickly went viral after being published by TMZ. Jenny Goldsberry, Washington Examiner, 18 Aug. 2023 That's okay though, because, as a kid, no amount of money could've stopped me from playing with my pa-la-la-la Polly. Isabel Garcia, House Beautiful, 18 Feb. 2020 There are dozens of variations, from haemul pa-jeon, a seafood scallion pancake, to kkaenip-jeon, perilla leaves stuffed with meat. NBC News, 25 Jan. 2020 Because there's a coalition of forces that are there that are putting pressure, the Iraqi partners were actually instrumental in taking down the caliphate. CBS News, 15 Jan. 2020 In this case the sum of pa and qb can take on values that range from 0 to 3.98 and at a = 1 and b = 1, the sum is 1.99. Quanta Magazine, 29 June 2018 Bama is the corporate behemoth out to destroy your college football ma-and-pa shops. Lorenzo Arguello, SI.com, 31 Oct. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pa.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

short for papa

First Known Use

Noun (1)

circa 1629, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1970, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

1932, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pa was circa 1629

Dictionary Entries Near pa

Cite this Entry

“Pa.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pa. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

Medical Definition

Pa

1 of 3 symbol
protactinium

PA

3 of 3 abbreviation
pernicious anemia

More from Merriam-Webster on pa

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