at
/ˈæt/ /ət/
preposition
at
/ˈæt/ /ət/
preposition
Britannica Dictionary definition of AT
1
— used to indicate the place where someone or something is
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We're staying at a hotel.
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The kitchen is at the back of the house.
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He was sitting at the table.
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They left for Cambridge early and arrived at [=in] Cambridge before noon.
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The party will be at Susan's house. = The party will be at Susan's.
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Ann works at [=in] a library.
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We met at a party.
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They live at opposite ends of town.
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They met at [=on] a street corner in a town.
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“Is your father at home?” [=is your father home?] “No, he's working late at the office.”
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She met us at the door.
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He was standing at [=next to] the window.
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There were 200 people at the wedding. [=200 people attended the wedding]
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Their older son has graduated, but their younger son is still at school. [=is still attending school]
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Who was at the controls when the accident occurred?
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2
— used to indicate the person or thing toward which an action, motion, or feeling is directed or aimed
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She pointed her gun at the target.
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He's angry at his brother.
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His anger is directed at his brother.
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She shouted (words of) abuse at me.
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He looked directly at me.
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They laughed at him.
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She grabbed at my arm. [=she tried to grab my arm]
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He poked at his food.
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3
— used to indicate something that is being tried or attempted
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I made an attempt at persuading him to go.
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I took a shot at doing it myself. [=I tried to do it myself]
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4
:
because of or in reaction to (something)
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They laughed at my joke.
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She's furious at how slowly the investigation is proceeding.
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— used to indicate the cause of an action, feeling, etc.
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I was greatly surprised at [=by] the result. [=the result surprised me greatly]
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He enlisted in the army at his father's urging. [=because his father urged him to]
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She visited the museum at my suggestion.
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They came here at our invitation.
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You can act at your own discretion.
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5
— used to indicate an activity
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He's very serious when he's at work. [=when he's working]
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children who are at play [=children who are playing]
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She's good at (playing) chess. [=she plays chess well]
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I'm bad at cooking. [=I'm a bad cook, I do not cook well]
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She's doing very well at her studies.
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6
— used to indicate a situation or condition
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I'm not at liberty to discuss that.
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at rest
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two nations that are at war
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people who are at risk
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He is now at peace.
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7
a
— used to indicate position on a scale or in a series
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The temperature is at 90 degrees.
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He was driving at almost 80 miles an hour.
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b
— used to indicate a rate
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They sell at [=for] a dollar a dozen. [=each dozen costs one dollar]
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8
— used to indicate an age or time
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He plans to retire at (age) 65.
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He called us at (about/exactly) 9 o'clock on July 24.
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at dawn/noon/sunset/night
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I still think of her at certain moments/times.
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He was president of the company at (the time of) his death.
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9
— used to indicate the method by which something is done
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The property was sold at auction.
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10
a
— used in phrases like at best, at worst, etc., to indicate a possible result or condition that is considered best, worst, etc.
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The company will make a small profit at best this year. [=it is not possible that the company will earn anything better/more than a small profit]
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We might be 5 or 10 minutes late at worst. [=we will not be more than 5 or 10 minutes late]
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We should arrive by noon at the latest. [=we should not arrive later than noon]
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b
— used in phrases like at its best, at its worst, etc., to indicate that something or someone is as good, bad, etc., as possible
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This is baseball at its best.
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He's often rude, and last night he was at his worst.
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◊ The word at is used in speech in e-mail addresses.
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“Can I e-mail you?” “Sure. Our e-mail address is ‘comments at Merriam-Webster dot com.’”
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In writing, the symbol @ is used instead.
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[emailprotected]
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at it
:
doing some activity
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I didn't expect her to have started working yet, but she was already (hard) at it when I arrived. [=she was already working (hard) when I arrived]
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My neighbors are always arguing, and they were at it again last night. [=they were arguing again last night]
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Since we're cleaning the kitchen, we should wash the floor while we're at it. [=we should wash the floor when we clean the kitchen]
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“I'm going to the store to buy a newspaper.” “While you're at it, could you get some milk?”
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at that
— see 1that
where it's at
— see 1where
where (someone) is at
— see 1where
