p

¹

abbreviation for

1. Music. softly ( def 2 ).

P

²

or p

[ pee ]

noun

, plural P's or Ps, p's or ps.

1. the sixteenth letter of the English alphabet, a consonant.
2. any spoken sound represented by the letter P or p, as in pet, supper, top, etc.
3. something having the shape of a P .
4. a written or printed representation of the letter P or p.
5. a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter P or p.

p.

³

abbreviation for

1. father.

P.

⁴

abbreviation for

1. father.

p

⁵

abbreviation for

1. penny; pence.

P

⁶

abbreviation for

1. Education. (as a rating of student performance) passing.
2. Chess. pawn.
3. Electronics. plate.
4. poor.
5. Grammar. predicate.
6. Protestant.

p.

⁷

abbreviation for

1. Music. softly ( def 2 ).

P.

⁸

abbreviation for

1. pastor.
2. peseta.
3. peso.
4. post.
5. president.
6. pressure.
7. priest.
8. prince.
9. progressive.

P

⁹

Symbol.

1. the 16th in order or in a series.
2. (sometimes lowercase) the medieval Roman numeral for 400. Compare Roman numerals.
3. Genetics. parental ( def 4 ).
4. Chemistry. phosphorus ( def 1 ).
5. Physics.
   1. power ( def 15a ).
   2. pressure ( def 2 ).
   3. Chemistry. proton ( def ).
   4. space inversion.
   5. poise ²( def ).
6. Biochemistry. proline ( def ).

p.

¹⁰

abbreviation for

1. after.

p.

¹¹

abbreviation for

1. page.
2. part.
3. participle.
4. past.
5. Chess. pawn.
6. penny; pence.
7. per.
8. Grammar. person.
9. peseta.
10. peso.
11. pint.
12. pipe.
13. Baseball. pitcher.
14. pole.
15. population.
16. president.
17. pressure.
18. purl.

p-

¹²

abbreviation for

1. Chemistry. para- ¹( def 2 ).

P-

¹³

abbreviation for

1. Military. (in designations of fighter aircraft) pursuit:

   P-38.

P

¹

symbol for

1. chem phosphorus
2. physics
   1. pressure
   2. power
   3. parity
   4. poise
3. (on road signs) parking
4. chess pawn
5. currency
   1. (the former) peseta
   2. peso
   3. pataca
   4. pula

abbreviation for

1. Portugal (international car registration)
2. pharmacy only: used to label medicines that can be obtained without a prescription, but only at a shop at which there is a pharmacist

p

²

/ piː /

noun

1. the 16th letter and 12th consonant of the modern English alphabet
2. a speech sound represented by this letter, usually a voiceless bilabial stop, as in pig
3. mind one's p's and q's
   to be careful to behave correctly and use polite or suitable language

p.

³

abbreviation for

1. pp page
2. part
3. participle
4. past
5. per
6. post
7. pro

p-

⁴

prefix

1. short for para- 1

p

⁵

symbol for

1. (in Britain) penny or pence
2. music piano: an instruction to play quietly
3. pico-
4. physics
   1. momentum
   2. proton
   3. pressure

Word History and Origins

Origin of p¹

From the Italian word piano

Origin of p²

From the Latin word pater

Origin of p³

From the Latin word Pater

Origin of p⁴

From the Italian word piano

Origin of p⁵

From the Latin word post

Word History and Origins

Origin of p¹

(sense 6) Latin: after

Idioms and Phrases

see mind one's p's and q's .

Example Sentences

Some of them are also affecting U.S. start-ups, including a paucity of I.P.O.s and sales that allow employees to cash out and venture capital firms to realize profits.

From New York Times

You may never have heard of this single-celled alga, but sailors and fishermen know its effect very well: the P. lunula algae are the organisms that occasionally make the see glow blue.

From Science Daily

Lawyers representing passengers who travelled on P&O's Ventura said there had been "repeated outbreaks" of illness onboard between April and June.

From BBC

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite closed at record highs last week, with most stocks edging upward this week following a pause on Tuesday.

From Salon

DP World, the owner of P&O Ferries, announced its much anticipated £1bn plan to make London Gateway "Britain's largest container port".

From BBC