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Synonyms

ma

1 American  
[mah] / mɑ /

noun

Informal.

  1. mother.

Ma 2 American  
[mah] / mɑ /

noun

  1. Yo-Yo born 1955, U.S. cellist, born in Paris of Chinese descent.

MA 3 American  

abbreviation

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

  2. Psychology. mental age.

mA 4 American  

  1. milliampere; milliamperes.

M.A. 5 American  

abbreviation

  1. Master of Arts.

M.A. 6 American  

abbreviation

  1. Psychology. mental age.

  2. Military Academy.

MA 1 British  

abbreviation

  1. Massachusetts

  2. Master of Arts

  3. psychol mental age

  4. Military Academy

  5. Morocco (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
Ma 2 British  
/ mɑː /

noun

  1. Yo-Yo (ˈjəʊjəʊ). born 1955, US cellist, born in France to Chinese parents

"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
ma 3 British  
/ mɑː /

noun

  1. an informal word for mother 1

"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
ma 4 British  

abbreviation

  1. Morocco

"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 ma1

Shortened variant of mama

Origin of M.A.5

From Latin Magister Artium

Vocabulary lists containing ma

Scrabble: Two-Letter Words

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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.

It took a Stone throw to find the ma.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025

"Right ma, love ya. I'll see you soon."

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2025

“Tunes hiv been whirlin aroon in the air an in ma heid an hairt since I wis a bairn, an I wis composing tunes an songs even then,” she wrote in her book.

From New York Times • Nov. 9, 2022

“Think Marination ma kai with a 98118 twist …” they say on Facebook.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 30, 2022

“Daddy,” I say again, “do you know where my ma is?”

From "Hurricane Child" by Kheryn Callender

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.