# from A to B
## English
### Etymology

Possibly from the common practice of labelling points using letters of the alphabet, and then referring to motion from one point to another as “from A to B”, and so on.

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /fɹəm ˈeɪ tə ˈbiː/
* (General American) IPA: /fɹəm ˈeɪ tə ˈbiː/, /fɹəm ˈeɪ ɾə ˈbiː/
* Audio (General Australian):(file)

### Prepositional phrase

from A to B
* From one point to the next; from the beginning of a trip to the end.
** 1997, Daniela Bertol, David Foell, “A Few Hypotheses for Reconstructed Architecture”, in Designing Digital Space: An Architect’s Guide to Virtual Reality, New York, N.Y., Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 303:While in our actual world we identify architecture with elements related by permanent relations, in virtual worlds space is a constant function of time. For example, if I have to ascend a stair to get from A to B, I will not necessarily have to descend to get back from B to A. Virtual spaces can hold many surprises.
** 1999, Sara Clifford, Anna Herrmann, “Unit Three: Devising the Show”, in Making a Leap – Theatre of Empowerment: A Practical Handbook of Drama and Theatre Work with Young People, London, Philadelphia, Pa.: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, →ISBN, page 133:At Leap we have found that, when working with a large group, it is not appropriate to create a traditional play with a story that follows one central character from A to B. Instead, we create a piece of theatre that can employ a large cast, follow several characters' stories in parallel and draw on several styles, especially popular forms.
** 1999, M. James C. Crabbe, “Preface”, in M. James C. Crabbe, editor, From Soul to Self, London, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page x:It is a journey travelled both by individuals and by societies made up of those individuals. It is not, however, a simple journey, a progression from A to B, starting with the soul and ending at the self.
** [2017 February 23, Katie Rife, “The Girl With All The Gifts tries to put a fresh spin on overripe zombie clichés”, in The A.V. Club‎, archived from the original on 10 September 2017:The zombie scenes are reminiscent of what you might see on a show like The Walking Dead, short bursts of extreme violence and gore punctuating expository dialogue scenes where the survivors try to figure out how they’re going to get from point A to point B.]

#### Related terms

* from A to Z

#### Translations
### References

* ↑ See, for example, R. H. (1681 December 10) “The Substance of a Mathematical Discourse, Containing the Description of the Best Form of Horizontal Sayls for a Mill, and the Ground of the Inclined Sayls of Ships, Made before the Royal Society, by R. H.”, in Philosophical Collections, number 3, London: Printed for Richard Chiswell, printer to the Royal Society, at the Rose and Crown in St Paul's Church-yard, →OCLC, page 63: “Let A B ſignifie the ſtream or current of the Air or Wind, moving from A to B, and let C repreſent the Centre of the Axis or Spindle, […]”.

### Further reading

* from A to B (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
* Christine A. Lindberg, editor (2002), “from A to B”, in The Oxford College Dictionary, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: Spark Publishing, →ISBN, page 1.
* Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “from A to B”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 1.