anagram

1 of 2

noun

an·​a·​gram ˈa-nə-ˌgram How to pronounce anagram (audio)
1
: a word or phrase made by transposing the letters of another word or phrase
The word "secure" is an anagram of "rescue."
2
anagrams plural in form but singular in construction : a game in which words are formed by rearranging the letters of other words or by arranging letters taken (as from a stock of cards or blocks) at random
anagrammatic adjective
or less commonly anagrammatical
anagrammatically adverb

anagram

2 of 2

verb

anagrammed; anagramming

transitive verb

1
: anagrammatize
anagrammed the letters of "battle" to form "tablet"
2
: to rearrange (the letters of a text) in order to discover a hidden message

Examples of anagram in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Afterward, all participants completed separate tasks that involved a clear goal, along with a challenge to that goal, such as solving a tricky anagram or playing a difficult game. Heather Lench, Scientific American, 21 Feb. 2024 Loewe's anagram knits are also a top look this winter, with natural hues and a mohair blend. Nadja Sayej, Forbes, 11 Feb. 2024 Then there's the name Verna, which happens to be an anagram for Raven. Nick Romano, EW.com, 12 Oct. 2023 The fictitious person’s name: Ron Vara, which is an anagram of Navarro. Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Jan. 2024 Forbes even came up with its own game, Frase, a fun anagram puzzler. Erik Kain, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2023 Next, the participants had 20 minutes to unscramble as many words as possible from four sets of seven anagrams displayed on a computer screen. Katie Mogg, NBC News, 4 Nov. 2023 The theme-and-variations format is enchanting, allowing Sondheim, the great puzzler, to treat songs almost as anagrams. Jesse Green, New York Times, 22 Oct. 2023 For example, in one of our experiments, participants were asked to solve unsolvable anagrams as part of their fictitious job. Tobias Dennerlein, The Conversation, 8 Sep. 2023
Verb
Every time someone joins (several people a week) the Devs commence to anagram the newbie’s name in every which way but the real one — sometimes dozens. Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'anagram.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

probably from Middle French anagramme, from New Latin anagrammat-, anagramma, modification of Greek anagrammatismos, from anagrammatizein to transpose letters, from ana- + grammat-, gramma letter — more at gram

Verb

derivative of anagram entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1589, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1622, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of anagram was in 1589

Dictionary Entries Near anagram

Cite this Entry

“Anagram.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anagram. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

anagram

noun
ana·​gram
ˈan-ə-ˌgram
: a word or phrase made out of another by changing the order of the letters
"rebate" is an anagram of "beater"

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