AS
Abbreviation with 11 meanings
| Stands for | Associate of Science |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 11 |
| Categories | Education & Academia, Medical, Geography & Places, Science & Engineering, Transportation & Travel, Business & Finance, Religion, Units & Measurements |
| Also written | a.s., As |
AS has 11 meanings. The most common are Associate of Science (degree) and Ankylosing spondylitis (musculoskeletal & rheumatology); it can also stand for Aortic stenosis, American Samoa, Arsenic, Alaska Airlines and Aggregate supply, plus 4 more listed below.
Meanings of AS at a glance
| # | AS stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Associate of Science | Education & Academia › Degree |
| 2 | Ankylosing spondylitis | Medical › Musculoskeletal & Rheumatology |
| 3 | Aortic stenosis | Medical › Cardiology |
| 4 | American Samoa | Geography & Places › US Territory and Military Mail |
| 5 | Arsenic | Science & Engineering › Chemical Element |
| 6 | Alaska Airlines | Transportation & Travel › Airline Code |
| 7 | Aggregate supply | Business & Finance › Economics |
| 8 | Aksjeselskap / aktsiaselts (limited company) | Business & Finance › Company Type |
| 9 | Alayhi as-salam (peace be upon him) | Religion › Religious Term |
| 10 | Auris sinistra (left ear) | Medical › Medication Route |
| 11 | Almost surely | Units & Measurements › Statistics |
1. Associate of Science
Education & Academia · Degree Abbreviations
Associate degree of roughly 60 credits weighted toward mathematics, laboratory sciences and technical coursework. Community colleges offer it as a transfer route into STEM, nursing and health majors and, in some states, as a career credential in fields such as radiography or networking.
Example: An AS in biology covered most of his prerequisites for the university's nursing program.
Written A.S. in AP style. Do not confuse it with the AAS, which is built for immediate employment and often transfers poorly. California's transfer version, the AS-T (Associate in Science for Transfer), guarantees admission somewhere in the California State University system.
2. Ankylosing spondylitis
Medical · Musculoskeletal & Rheumatology Abbreviations
Chronic inflammatory arthritis of the spine and sacroiliac joints that causes inflammatory back pain, worse with rest and better with exercise, typically starting before age 45. Over years, new bone formation can fuse vertebrae, producing a rigid "bamboo spine".
Example: AS with bilateral grade 3 sacroiliitis, HLA-B27 positive; NSAIDs insufficient, start TNF inhibitor.
"Ankylosing" comes from the Greek for stiffening or fusion. Many rheumatologists now use the term radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (r-axSpA). Men are affected more often than women, and acute anterior uveitis occurs in about a third of patients. Most patients carry HLA-B27. In cardiology AS means aortic stenosis, a far more common use in hospital notes.
3. Aortic stenosis
Medical · Cardiology Abbreviations
Narrowing of the aortic valve that obstructs outflow from the left ventricle, most often from age-related calcification or a congenitally bicuspid valve. Severe AS is defined by a peak velocity of 4 m/s or more, a mean gradient of 40 mmHg or more, or a valve area of 1.0 cm2 or less.
Example: Harsh crescendo-decrescendo systolic murmur at the right upper sternal border; echo shows severe AS, AVA 0.7 cm2.
The classic symptom triad is angina, syncope and heart failure; once symptoms appear, survival without valve replacement is poor. Treatment is surgical (SAVR) or transcatheter (TAVR) valve replacement. Low-flow, low-gradient AS can make severity hard to judge and may require dobutamine echocardiography or CT calcium scoring. In rheumatology AS means ankylosing spondylitis.
4. American Samoa
Geography & Places · US Territory and Military Mail Abbreviations
The only inhabited US territory south of the equator, on Tutuila and the Manuʻa Islands in the South Pacific. Pago Pago is the main town and harbor, ZIP code 96799 covers the whole territory, and people born there are US nationals rather than US citizens at birth.
Example: Parcel post to Pago Pago, AS 96799 travels by air through Honolulu.
AS is also the ISO alpha-2 code (alpha-3 ASM) and gives the .as domain, popular with Norwegian and Danish companies because AS abbreviates aksjeselskap or aktieselskab, a limited company. Do not confuse American Samoa with the independent nation of Samoa, whose ISO code is WS.
5. Arsenic (As)
Science & Engineering · Chemical Element Abbreviations
Arsenic (element 33) is a metalloid best known as a poison: arsenic trioxide is tasteless and was so popular with murderers that it was called "inheritance powder." Natural arsenic in groundwater threatens millions of people, notably in Bangladesh. It also hardens lead alloys and forms the semiconductor gallium arsenide.
Example: Well water tested at 18 ppb As, above the 10 ppb guideline, so a treatment system was installed.
Albertus Magnus is often credited with isolating the element around 1250. The word comes via Latin arsenicum and Greek arsenikon (yellow orpiment), which trace back to Persian zarnikh, "golden." Arsenic drugs have a long medical history, from Salvarsan for syphilis (1910) to arsenic trioxide for acute promyelocytic leukemia today.
6. Alaska Airlines
Transportation & Travel · Airline Code Abbreviations
US airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, with hubs in Seattle, Portland, Anchorage and San Francisco and a strong West Coast network. Alaska joined the oneworld alliance in 2021.
Example: Our Alaska AS 329 to San Diego boards from gate D1 at Sea-Tac.
ICAO code ASA; callsign "Alaska." Its tails carry the smiling face of an Alaska Native man, often described as an Inupiat figure. Alaska bought Virgin America in 2016 and completed the acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines in 2024. The airline pioneered RNP satellite approaches in mountainous Alaska.
7. Aggregate supply
Business & Finance · Economics Abbreviations
Total output of goods and services that firms in an economy are willing and able to produce at a given overall price level. Economists distinguish short-run aggregate supply, which slopes upward, from long-run aggregate supply, which is vertical at potential output.
Example: An oil price shock shifts AS to the left, causing both higher inflation and lower output.
The combination of falling output and rising prices from a negative supply shock is called stagflation, as seen in the 1970s. Supply-side policies aim to shift long-run AS outward through productivity, labor-force growth and investment. In company names, AS denotes a Norwegian or Estonian limited company.
8. Aksjeselskap / aktsiaselts (limited company)
Business & Finance · Company Type Abbreviations
Limited company suffix in Norway, where the aksjeselskap is the standard private company form, and in Estonia, where the aktsiaselts is a joint-stock company. A Norwegian AS needs minimum share capital of NOK 30,000.
Example: The Oslo software firm is registered as an AS with NOK 30,000 in share capital.
Norway's public companies use ASA instead. In Estonia the common private form is the OÜ (osaühing), while the AS is closer to a public company. Turkey's anonim şirket, written A.Ş., often appears as "AS" without diacritics in English, as in Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S.
9. Alayhi as-salam (peace be upon him)
Religion · Religious Term Abbreviations
Arabic honorific used after the names of prophets other than Muhammad, such as Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses) and Isa (Jesus), and after angels such as Jibril (Gabriel). Shia Muslims also use it for the Imams of the Prophet's family.
Example: The story of Prophet Yusuf AS is told in a single chapter of the Quran.
Also written A.S. or AS; the English equivalent is PBUH. The Arabic for Muhammad is the longer blessing abbreviated SAW. AS has many unrelated meanings, including the Associate of Science degree.
10. Auris sinistra (left ear)
Medical · Medication Route Abbreviations
Abbreviation for the left ear in medication orders and hearing test records. ISMP includes it on its error-prone list because AS has been confused with OS (left eye) and misread in handwriting.
Example: Ciprofloxacin-dexamethasone otic 4 drops AS BID; keep ear dry.
Latin "auris sinistra". ISMP recommends writing "left ear". In cardiology, AS far more often means aortic stenosis, and in rheumatology ankylosing spondylitis, so reading the surrounding order is the only way to tell them apart.
11. Almost surely (a.s.)
Units & Measurements · Statistics Abbreviations
Probability term meaning an event has probability 1, even though it is not logically certain. A point chosen at random from the interval [0, 1] is almost surely irrational.
Example: The sample mean converges a.s. to the population mean by the strong law of large numbers.
The measure-theory equivalent is "almost everywhere" (a.e.). Events of probability zero can still happen in principle, such as drawing exactly 0.5 from a continuous distribution. Almost-sure convergence is stronger than convergence in probability.
Related abbreviations
More degree abbreviations
- AGS – Associate in General Studies
- ALM – Artium Liberalium Magister (Master of Liberal Arts)
- AM – Artium Magister (Master of Arts)
- AOS – Associate in Occupational Studies
- ASN – Associate of Science in Nursing
- AuD – Doctor of Audiology
- BA – Bachelor of Arts
- BArch – Bachelor of Architecture
See all 139 degree abbreviations →
More musculoskeletal & rheumatology abbreviations
- ACDF – Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion
- ACLR – Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction
- APS – Antiphospholipid syndrome
- AVN – Avascular necrosis
- axSpA – Axial spondyloarthritis
- BTB – Bone-patellar tendon-bone (graft)
- CES – Cauda equina syndrome
- CPPD – Calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease
See all 71 musculoskeletal & rheumatology abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.