at definition | Dictionary.com

at

1 [at; unstressed uh

t, it]

–preposition

1.	(used to indicate a point or place occupied in space); in, on, or near: to stand at the door; at the bottom of the barrel.

2.	(used to indicate a location or position, as in time, on a scale, or in order): at zero; at noon; at age 65; at the end; at the lowest point.

3.	(used to indicate presence or location): at home; at hand.

4.	(used to indicate amount, degree, or rate): at great speed; at high altitudes.

5.	(used to indicate a direction, goal, or objective); toward: Aim at the mark. Look at that.

6.	(used to indicate occupation or involvement): at work; at play.

7.	(used to indicate a state or condition): at ease; at peace.

8.	(used to indicate a cause or source): She was annoyed at his stupidity.

9.	(used to indicate a method or manner): He spoke at length.

10.	(used to indicate relative quality or value): at one's best; at cost.

—Idioms

11.	be at (someone), to be sexually aggressive toward (a person): She's pregnant again because he's at her morning, noon, and night.

12.	where it's at, Informal. the place where the most interesting or exciting things happen: Emma says that Rome is definitely where it's at now.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE æt; c. OFris et, ON, OS, Goth at, OHG az, L, Old Welsh, Old Breton ad, Gk a- (< a pre-Hellenic IE substratum language), Oscan, OIr, Gaulish, Phrygian ad-

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at

2 [aht, at]

–noun

a money of account of Laos, the 100th part of a kip.

Origin:
1950–55; < Lao; cf. Thai ʔàt formerly, a copper coin worth one eighth of a füang, ult. < Pali aṭṭha eight

at-

var. of ad- before t: attend.

AT

1.	achievement test.

antitank.

At

ampere-turn.

aT

attotesla.

At

Symbol, Chemistry.

astatine.

at.

1.	atmosphere.

atomic.

attorney.

A.T.

Atlantic time.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To at

am·pere-turn (ām'pîr-tûrn')
n. Abbr. At
A unit of magnetomotive force in the meter-kilogram-second system equal to the magnetomotive force around a path linking one turn of a conducting loop carrying a current of one ampere.

as·ta·tine (ās'tə-tēn', -tĭn)

n. Symbol At
A highly unstable radioactive element, the heaviest of the halogen series, that resembles iodine in solution. Its longest lived isotope has a mass number of 210 and has a half-life of 8.3 hours. Atomic number 85; melting point 302°C; boiling point 337°C; valence probably 1, 3, 5, 7. See Table at element.

[Greek astatos, unstable; see astasia + -ine².]

at¹ (āt; ət when unstressed)

prep.

1. In or near the area occupied by; in or near the location of: at the market; at our destination.
2. In or near the position of: always at my side; at the center of the page.
To or toward the direction or location of, especially for a specific purpose: Questions came at us from all sides.
Present during; attending: at the dance.
Within the interval or span of: at the dinner hour; at a glance.
In the state or condition of: at peace with one's conscience.
In the activity or field of: skilled at playing chess; good at math.
To or using the rate, extent, or amount of; to the point of: at 30 cents a pound; at high speed; at 20 paces; at 350°F.
On, near, or by the time or age of: at three o'clock; at 72 years of age.
On account of; because of: rejoice at a victory.
By way of; through: exited at the rear gate.
In accord with; following: at my request.
Dependent upon: at the mercy of the court.
Occupied with: at work.

[Middle English, from Old English æt; see ad- in Indo-European roots.]

at² (ät)

n. pl. at
See Table at currency.

[Lao àt, perhaps from Thai àt, former coin worth one-eighth of a füang (a former unit of currency), ultimately from Pali aṭṭa, eight, from Sanskrit aṣṭā; see oktō(u)- in Indo-European roots.]

aT
abbr. attotesla

At¹
The symbol for the element astatine.

At²
abbr. ampere-turn

AT
abbr.

air temperature
also a/t antitank
automatic transmission

at·to·tes·la (āt'ō-těs'lə)

n. Abbr. aT
One-quintillionth (10^-18) of a tesla.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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At\, prep. [AS. [ae]t; akin to OHG. az, Goth., OS., & Icel. at, Sw. [*a]t, Dan. & L. ad.] Primarily, this word expresses the relations of presence, nearness in place or time, or direction toward; as, at the ninth hour; at the house; to aim at a mark. It is less definite than in or on; at the house may be in or near the house. From this original import are derived all the various uses of at. It expresses:

1. A relation of proximity to, or of presence in or on, something; as, at the door; at your shop; at home; at school; at hand; at sea and on land.

2. The relation of some state or condition; as, at war; at peace; at ease; at your service; at fault; at liberty; at risk; at disadvantage.

3. The relation of some employment or action; occupied with; as, at engraving; at husbandry; at play; at work; at meat (eating); except at puns.

4. The relation of a point or position in a series, or of degree, rate, or value; as, with the thermometer at 80[deg]; goods sold at a cheap price; a country estimated at 10,000 square miles; life is short at the longest.

5. The relations of time, age, or order; as, at ten o'clock; at twenty-one; at once; at first.

6. The relations of source, occasion, reason, consequence, or effect; as, at the sight; at this news; merry at anything; at this declaration; at his command; to demand, require, receive, deserve, endure at your hands.

7. Relation of direction toward an object or end; as, look at it; to point at one; to aim at a mark; to throw, strike, shoot, wink, mock, laugh at any one.

At all, At home, At large, At last, At length, At once, etc. See under All, Home, Large, Last (phrase and syn.), Length, Once, etc.

At it, busily or actively engaged.

At least. See Least and However.

At one. See At one, in the Vocabulary.

Syn: In, At.

Usage: When reference to the interior of any place is made prominent in is used. It is used before the names of countries and cities (esp. large cities); as, we live in America, in New York, in the South. At is commonly employed before names of houses, institutions, villages, and small places; as, Milton was educated at Christ's College; money taken in at the Customhouse; I saw him at the jeweler's; we live at Beachville. At may be used before the name of a city when it is regarded as a mere point of locality. "An English king was crowned at Paris." --Macaulay. "Jean Jacques Rousseau was born at Geneva, June, 28, 1712." --J. Morley. In regard to time, we say at the hour, on the day, in the year; as, at 9 o'clock, on the morning of July 5th, in the year 1775.

Language Translation for : at

Spanish: enen,

German: zu; an; in; bei,

Japanese: ～に

More Translations »

O.E. æt, common P.Gmc. (cf. O.N., Goth. at, O.Fris. et, O.H.G. az), from PIE *ad- "to, near, at" (cf. L. ad "to, toward" Skt. adhi "near"). Lost in Ger. and Du., which use their equivalent of to; in Scand., however, to has been lost and at fills its place. At-home (n.) "reception of visitors" is from 1745; baseball at-bat "player's turn at the plate" is from 1941.

Main Entry: at
Function: abbreviation
airtight

Main Entry: At
Function: symbol
astatine

At
The symbol for the element astatine.

astatine (ās'tə-tēn') Pronunciation Key
Symbol At
A highly unstable, rare, radioactive element that is the heaviest of the halogen elements. Its most stable isotope has a half-life of 8.3 hours. Atomic number 85; melting point 302°C; boiling point 337°C; valence probably 1, 3, 5, 7. See Periodic Table.

At
The symbol for astatine.

AT
IBM PC AT

at
1. commercial at.
2. The country code for Austria.

aT
attotesla

ampere-turn
astatine

achievement test
advanced technology
air temperature
antitank
Atlantic Time
automatic transmission

radioactive chemical element and the heaviest member of the halogen elements, or Group 17 (Group VIIa) of the periodic table. Astatine, which has no stable isotopes, was first synthetically produced (1940) at the University of California by American physicists Dale R. Corson, Kenneth R. MacKenzie, and Emilio Segre, who bombarded bismuth with accelerated alpha particles (helium nuclei) to yield astatine and neutrons. Naturally occurring astatine isotopes have subsequently been found in minute amounts in the three natural radioactive decay series, in which they occur by minor branching (astatine-218 in the uranium series, astatine-216 in the thorium series, and astatine-215 and astatine-219 in the actinium series). Thirty-three isotopes are known; astatine-210, with a half-life of 8.3 hours, is the longest lived.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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