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Al

1 American  
[al] / æl /

noun

  1. a first name, form of Albert, Alfred, Aloysius.

-al 2 American  

  1. a suffix with the general sense “of the kind of, pertaining to, having the form or character of” that named by the stem, occurring in loanwords from Latin (autumnal; natural; pastoral ), and productive in English on the Latin model, usually with bases of Latin origin (accidental; seasonal; tribal ). Originally, -al1 was restricted to stems not containing an -l- (-ar ); recent lapses in this rule have produced semantically distinct pairs, as familiar and familial.

al. 3 American  

abbreviation

  1. other things.

Al 4 American  
Symbol, Chemistry.

  1. aluminum.

-al 5 American  

  1. a suffix forming nouns from verbs, usually verbs of French or Latin origin.

    denial; refusal.
al. 6 American  

abbreviation

  1. other persons.

-al 7 American  

  1. Chemistry. a suffix indicating that a compound contains an aldehyde group.

    chloral.
al 8 American  
[ahl] / ɑl /

noun

  1. Indian mulberry.

AL 9 American  

abbreviation

  1. Alabama (approved especially for use with zip code).

  2. Anglo-Latin.

al- 10 American  

  1. variant of ad- before l: allure.

Al- 11 American  

  1. a word in Arabic names meaning “family” or “the house of ”.

    Al-Saud, or the members of the house of Saud.
AL. 12 American  

abbreviation

  1. Anglo-Latin.

a.l. 13 American  

abbreviation

  1. autograph letter.

A.L. 14 American  

abbreviation

  1. Baseball. American League.

  2. American Legion.

  3. Anglo-Latin.

AL 1 British  

abbreviation

  1. Alabama

  2. Anglo-Latin

  3. (in the US and Canada) American League (of baseball teams)

  4. Albania (international car registration)

"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
-al 2 British  

suffix

  1. indicating an aldehyde

    ethanal

  2. indicating a pharmaceutical product

    phenobarbital
"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
-al 3 British  

suffix

  1. of; related to; connected with

    functional

    sectional

    tonal
"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
-al 4 British  

suffix

  1. the act or process of doing what is indicated by the verb stem

    rebuttal

    recital

    renewal
"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
Al 5 British  

symbol

  1. aluminium

"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
al 6 British  

abbreviation

  1. Albania

"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 -al2

< Latin ālis, -āle; often replacing Middle English -el < Old French

Origin of al.3

From the Latin word alia

Origin of -al5

< Latin -āle (singular), -ālia (plural), nominalized neuter of -ālis -al 1; often replacing Middle English -aille < Old French < Latin -ālia

Origin of al.6

From the Latin word aliī

Origin of -al7

Presumed to be short for aldehyde

Origin of al8

From the Hindi word āl

Origin of Al-11

From the Arabic word āl family

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.

The U.S. on Monday opened a new “coordination cell” at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar to boost its ability to integrate missile defense capabilities with regional partners.

From The Wall Street Journal

Speaking to Al Jazeera TV on Monday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the internet had been cut off "after we confronted terrorist operations and realised orders were coming from outside the country".

From BBC

In June, Iran targeted the Al Udeid base in response to American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

From Barron's

The armed forces minister and former Royal Marine Al Carns said the safety of service personnel was "paramount", as was providing safe, reliable and effective equipment.

From BBC

"After careful evaluation, Apple determined that Google's Al technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and is excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for Apple users," they said.

From BBC

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.