PA

UK: 'PA': /ˌpiːˈeɪ/; 'pa': /ˈpɑː/ US: (pä, pô)

From the verb pancake: (⇒ conjugate)

pa is: ⓘ

v past

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

PA,  an abbreviation of:

1. Pennsylvania.
2. Sound Reproduction public-address system.

Pa.,  an abbreviation of:

1. Place Names Pennsylvania.

P.A.,  an abbreviation of:

1. public-address system.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

PA abbreviation

1. personal assistant
2. Post Adjutant
3. power of attorney
4. press agent
5. Press Association
6. private account
7. public-address system
8. publicity agent
9. Publishers Association
10. purchasing agent
11. particular average

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

pan•cake /ˈpænˌkeɪk/   n., v., -caked, -cak•ing. 
n. [countable]

1. Food a thin, flat cake of flour, eggs, and milk, fried on both sides in a frying pan;
   a griddlecake or flapjack.

v. 

2. Aeronautics (of an airplane) to (cause to) drop flat to the ground after leveling off a few feet above it: [no object]
   The plane pancaked down the runway.
   [~ + object]
   The pilot pancaked his airplane.
3. Informal Terms to flatten, esp. as the result of an accident:
   [~ + object] pancaked the car into an oncoming truck.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

pa  (pä, pô), n. [Informal.]

1. Informal Terms father.

• short for papa

PA, 

1. Parents' Association.
2. paying agent.
3. Pennsylvania (approved esp. for use with zip code).
4. Medicine physician's assistant.
5. press agent.
6. Sound Reproduction public-address system.

Pa, [Physics.]

1. Chemistry, Physics pascal;
   pascals.

Pa, [Symbol, Chem.]

1. protactinium.

Pa., 

1. Place Names Pennsylvania.

P.A., 

1. Parents' Association.
2. Business [Insurance.] particular average.
3. passenger agent.
4. post adjutant.
5. Law power of attorney.
6. press agent.
7. public-address system.
8. publicity agent.
9. purchasing agent.

p.a., 

1. Grammar participial adjective.
2. per annum.
3. press agent.

p.-a., 

1. Sound Reproduction public-address system.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

P.A., +

1. Abbreviations Parents' Association.Also, PA 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

pan•cake  (pan′kāk′), n., v., -caked, -cak•ing. 
n. 

1. Food a thin, flat cake of batter fried on both sides on a griddle or in a frying pan;
   griddlecake or flapjack.
2. Aeronautics Also called pan′cake land′ing. an airplane landing made by pancaking.

v.i. 

3. Aeronautics (of an airplane or the like) to drop flat to the ground after leveling off a few feet above it.

v.t. 

4. Informal Terms to flatten, esp. as the result of a collision or other mishap:
   The car had been pancaked by the bus.
5. Aeronautics to cause (an airplane) to pancake.

• 1400–50; late Middle English; see pan¹, cake

Regional Variation

1. . Pancake, hot cake, griddlecake, and flapjack, with its derived slapjack, are used interchangeably by many people, regardless of whether a pan or griddle is used for cooking, and each term is widely used throughout the U.S. Flannel cake, however, is confined chiefly to the North Midland U.S. and battercake to South Midland and Southern U.S. The following terms have limited regional use and may refer to flat cakes with different recipes or cooking methods: johnnycake, which is used in the Northeastern U.S.; corncake in the Midland and Southern U.S.; and hoecake in the South Midland and Southern U.S.

Pan-Cake  (pan′kāk′), [Trademark.]

1. Clothing, Trademarks a brand of cosmetic in a semimoist cake of compressed powder, usually applied with a moist sponge.

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Pa symbol:chemical

1. protactinium

symbol

1. pascal

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

pa / pɑː/ noun

1. an informal word for father

pa, pah / pɑː/ noun

1. a Māori village or settlement
2. a Māori defensive position and settlement on a hilltop

Etymology: Māori

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Pa. abbreviation

1. Pennsylvania

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

p.a. abbreviation

1. per annum

Etymology: Latin: yearly

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

pancake / ˈpænˌkeɪk/ noun

1. a thin flat cake made from batter and fried on both sides, often served rolled and filled with a sweet or savoury mixture
2. a Scot name for drop scone
3. Also called: pancake landing an aircraft landing made by levelling out a few feet from the ground and then dropping onto it

verb

1. to cause (an aircraft) to make a pancake landing or (of an aircraft) to make a pancake landing