Word.ws English Dictionary

au

au is the abbreviation of atomic unit.

au is the abbreviation of arbitrary unit.

au is the abbreviation of astronomical unit.

au is the abbreviation of Absorbance Units.

Meaning of arbitrary unit

Noun

arbitrary unit (plural arbitrary units)

  1. A relative unit of measurement to show the ratio of amount of substance, intensity, or other quantities, to a predetermined reference measurement.

Meaning of astronomical unit

Noun

astronomical unit (plural astronomical units)

  1. 149,597,870,700 metres, the approximate mean distance from the Earth to the Sun (the semi-major axis of Earth's orbit), (symbol AU), used to measure distances in the solar system.
    • Now this big quarter of a Jupiter mass planet is in an orbit about Zeta 2 Reticuli which lasts 18.9 days and has a Semi-Major Axis of 0.14 Astronomical Unit (AU). For comparison Mercury has a Semi-Major Axis of 0.387 AU equal to 36 million miles and Earth has a Semi-Major Axis of 1.00 AU equal to...2000 April 10, Joe LeSearne, “Zeta 2 Reticuli : Home System Of The Greys?”, in http://www.gravitywarpdrive.com/, retrieved 05 Aug 2012
    Synonyms:
    A.U., AU, ua, ㍳, a. u.

Noun (1)

au

  1. A vowel found in Indic abugidas.
    Synonyms:
    letter au

Adjective capitalized: AU

AU (not comparable)

  1. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of almost uncirculated.

Noun (2) capitalized: AU

AU (countable and uncountable, plural AUs)

  1. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of alopecia universalis.
  2. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of astronomical unit.
    • Tuntau is an enormous, low-density terrestrial planet, with a thick atmosphere of methane and helium. Despite being nearly 20 AU from Phoenix, the star's great heat and the insulating thickness of the atmosphere make the surface surprisingly temperate.2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Tuntau
  3. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of angstrom unit.
  4. (abbreviation, initialism, slang) Initialism of alternate universe or alternative universe.
  5. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of arbitrary unit.
  6. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of animal unit.

Proper noun (1) capitalized: AU

AU

  1. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of African Union.
  2. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of Age of Ultron.

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Au

Au

  1. A language spoken in Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea.

Proper noun (3) capitalized: Au

Au

  1. A surname.

Synonyms of au

Forms of au

Noun
pluralau
pluralAUs
Adjective
alternative forma.u.
alternative formA.U.
alternative formA. U.

Origin of au

Borrowed from Cantonese 歐/欧 (ou1) or 區/区 (ou1) (Doublet of Ao), or from German Au.

Phrases with au

28 more phrasesFewer phrases

Questions about au

What does au mean?
Au means a vowel found in Indic abugidas.
What is au the abbreviation of?
Au is the abbreviation of atomic unit.
What part of speech is au?
Au can be a noun, an adjective or a proper noun.
What is the plural of au?
The plural of au is au.

Words near au in the dictionary

  1. Atzera
  2. Atzilut
  3. Atziluth
  4. Até
  5. Atë
  6. au
  7. au contraire
  8. au courant
  9. au fait
  10. au fond
  11. au go-go

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: au (page history and authors); AU (page history and authors); Au (page history and authors); arbitrary unit (page history and authors); astronomical unit (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “au.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/au. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.