at

atpreposition

At points to an exact place, moment, aim, or rate, without describing any wider area around it.

1. a point or placein, on, or near a particular point or place

   • Turn left at the corner.
   • She's waiting at the bus stop.
   • We agreed to meet at the entrance.
   • He works at a bank downtown.

   Collocations

   preposition + noun at home, at school, at work, at the top, at the bottom

   Compare in (at names an exact point; in names an area with edges around it, such as a city or a room); on; to

   For translators (sense 1)

   Grammar trap At marks an exact point (an address, a building, a stop), in marks an enclosed area (a city, a room, a country), and on marks a surface (a street, a floor); many languages use one word for all three.

2. a point in timea particular point in time, rather than a day or a longer period

   • The movie starts at eight o'clock.
   • I usually wake up at sunrise.
   • We arrived at the same time.
   • Call me at lunchtime.

   Collocations

   preposition + noun at night, at noon, at the moment, at first, at last

   For translators (sense 2)

   Grammar trap Use at for a precise clock time (at six o'clock), on for a day or date (on Monday), and in for a longer period such as a month, a year, or a season (in June); many languages use one word for all three.

3. towardin the direction of someone or something, as the aim of an action

   • Please don't throw stones at the birds.
   • She smiled at me from across the room.
   • He shouted at the driver to stop.
   • Look at this photo I found.

   Collocations

   verb + preposition look at, laugh at, point at, aim at, shout at

4. a rate or levelused to show a rate, price, level, or speed

   • The store sells apples at a dollar each.
   • The car was traveling at eighty miles an hour.
   • The temperature stood at freezing all morning.
   • Employees are paid at an hourly rate.

   Collocations

   phrase at a rate of, at full speed, at a discount