DictionaryAI

ampersand

AM-pur-sand/ˈæm.pɚ.sænd/UKAM-puh-sand/ˈæm.pə(ɹ).sænd/

Pluralampersands

Verbampersands, ampersanding, ampersanded

2 meanings of ampersand

Practice

  1. 1
    and symbolnouncountable
    The written sign & that stands for the word and.

    Like a shortcut mark that means "and," the way a plus sign means "add."

    The company's logo uses an ampersand between the two names.

    Write an ampersand instead of the word and to save space on the card.

    Note
  2. 2
    verbraretransitive
    To put an ampersand into a name or piece of writing.

Use it in a sentence

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Origin

The name comes from a run-together pronunciation of the phrase "and per se and," meaning the symbol ⟨&⟩ standing by itself for "and." The form "ampersand" first appeared in 1795.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts