anagram

1 of 2

noun

an·​a·​gram ˈa-nə-ˌgram 

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

ˌa-nə-grə-ˈma-tik 

adjective

or less commonly anagrammatical

ˌa-nə-grə-ˈma-ti-kəl 

anagrammatically

ˌa-nə-grə-ˈma-ti-k(ə-)lē 

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

Still, the Doctor’s definitely still intrigued, given that S Triad is an anagram of TARDIS … and his granddaughter is named Susan. —Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 14 June 2024

Seth, who loves anagrams and puzzles of any kind, scrambles Kimberly Levaco’s name into Cleverly Akimbo. —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 18 Oct. 2024

Verb

To decipher her code, translate the picture (or pictures) on each card into two words, then anagram the letters to spell out one of the dishes depicted on the right. —Suerynn Lee, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024

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

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

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"