à la

UK: /ɑːlɑː/ US: /ˈɑ lɑ, ˈæ lə/ ,(ä′ lä, ä′ lə; Fr. a la)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

à la or a la/ˈɑ lɑ, ˈæ lə/  prep. 

1. in the manner or style of:
   a poem à la Byron.

Ala.,  an abbreviation of:

1. Place Names Alabama.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

à la  (ä′ lä, ä′ lə; Fr. a la), 

1. according to;
   in the manner of:
   a short poem à la Ogden Nash.
2. [Cookery.]
   • prepared in the manner of, to the taste of, or by:
     chicken à la provençale.
   • prepared with the ingredient of. Also, a la. 

• French: short for à la mode de in the style of
• 1580–90

a•la  (ā′lə), n., pl. a•lae 

(ā′lē). 
1. Birds a wing.
2. Biology a winglike part, process, or expansion, as of a bone, shell, seed, or stem.
3. Botany either of the two side petals of a flower in the legume family, as the pea.
4. Antiquity, Architecture (in an ancient Roman house) a small room, as an alcove, opening into a larger room or courtyard.

• Latin āla wing, armpit, shoulder, representing *aks-lā, derivative of same base as axis axle (see axis¹); see axle
• 1730–40

A•la  (ä′lä), n. 

Hus•sein  (hŏŏ sān′), 1888–1964, Iranian statesman and diplomat: premier in 1951 and from 1955 to 1957.

Ala, [Biochem.]

1. Biochemistry alanine.

Ala., 

1. Place Names Alabama.

A.L.A., 

1. American Library Association.
2. Associate in Liberal Arts.
3. Authors League of America.
4. Automobile Legal Association.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

à la / ɑː lɑː æ lə a la/ preposition

1. in the manner or style of
2. as prepared in (a particular place) or by or for (a particular person)

Etymology: 17th Century: from French, short for à la mode de in the style of