at

¹

[ at; unstressed uht, 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.

noun

1. @, a symbol that is used in email addresses to link a username to a domain name, used at the beginning of Twitter handles, and in other identifying designations on the internet.

verb (used with object)

ed or ateding or ating

1. (on social media)
   1. to tag an account that begins with the symbol @, resulting in a link to that account’s profile and a notification to the user that their account has been explicitly mentioned in someone else’s post:

      One big celebrity at-ed the restaurant, and suddenly reservations were booked for the next six weeks.

   2. to include or involve someone, or to call a person out, especially when that person does not want to be involved or singled out:

      My opinions are my own, so please don’t at my employer about the stuff I write on this site.

   3. to argue with someone, or dispute someone’s stated views, especially on social media:

      The sequel was better than the original—don’t at me!

At

²

abbreviation for

1. ampere-turn.

at

³

or att

[ aht, at ]

noun

, plural at or ats.

1. a money of account of Laos, one 100th of a kip.

At

⁴

Symbol, Chemistry.

1. astatine.

AT

⁵

abbreviation for

1. achievement test.
2. antitank.

aT

⁶

abbreviation for

1. attotesla.

at-

⁷

1. variant of ad- before t: attend.

at.

⁸

abbreviation for

1. atmosphere.
2. atomic.
3. attorney.

A.T.

⁹

abbreviation for

1. Atlantic time.

At

¹

the chemical symbol for

1. astatine

symbol for

1. AlsoA ampere-turn

AT

²

abbreviation for

1. attainment target

at

³

the internet domain name for

1. Austria

at

⁴

/ ɑːt; æt /

noun

1. a Laotian monetary unit worth one hundredth of a kip

at

⁵

/ æt /

preposition

1. used to indicate location or position

   are they at the table?

   staying at a small hotel

2. towards; in the direction of

   looking at television

   throwing stones at windows

3. used to indicate position in time

   come at three o'clock

4. engaged in; in a state of (being)

   stand at ease

   children at play

   he is at his most charming today

5. (in expressions concerned with habitual activity) during the passing of (esp in the phrase at night )

   he used to work at night

6. for; in exchange for

   it's selling at four pounds

7. used to indicate the object of an emotion

   angry at the driver

   shocked at his behaviour

8. where it's at slang.
   the real place of action

at.

⁶

abbreviation for

1. Alsoatm atmosphere (unit of pressure)
2. atomic

Word History and Origins

Origin of at¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English æt; cognate with Old Frisian et, Old Norse, Old Saxon, Gothic at, Old High German az, Latin, Old Welsh, Old Breton ad, Oscan ad-, Umbrian ař-, Old Irish, Gaulish, Phrygian ad-

Origin of at²

First recorded in 1950–55; from Lao; compare Thai ʔàt formerly, a copper coin worth one eighth of a füang, ultimately from Pali aṭṭha eight

Word History and Origins

Origin of at¹

from Thai

Origin of at²

Old English æt; related to Old Norse at to, Latin ad to

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. be at (someone), to be sexually aggressive toward (a person):

   She's pregnant again because he's at her morning, noon, and night.

2. 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.

Example Sentences

But high winds have deafened the instruments to the rumblings from deeper magma, says Rick Aster, a geophysicist at Colorado State University.

From Science Magazine

At lunch one day, the wind chill reached –59°C, says Glen Mattioli, vice president for instrumentation at the EarthScope Consortium, which operates the seismometer network.

From Science Magazine

At Erebus, however, researchers have tracked long-term cycles of pressure buildup that perceptibly inflate and deflate its flanks, suggesting a gap in understanding how its magmatic plumbing works, says Ronni Grapenthin, a geophysicist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

From Science Magazine

Zimmerer says it’s unclear how fast volcanoes would respond to shrinking ice, if at all.

From Science Magazine

“It’s crazy to look back at who I was,” Gay says over the phone from her living room in Salt Lake City.

From Los Angeles Times