Meaning & use

alphabet

noun·Everyday

A set of letters or symbols arranged in a fixed order and used to write a language.

See it in a sentence

The English alphabet has twenty-six letters, running from A to Z.

Children in kindergarten spend the year learning to recognize the alphabet.

A note on using this word

Not all writing systems use an alphabet; some, like Chinese, use characters that represent whole words or syllables instead of sounds.

Words with a similar meaning

This term is best learned through its definition and examples.

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