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# abracadabra

interjection (abracadabra); noun (abracadabra — nonsense talk)

«abracadabra» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Abracadabra is a magic word said by magicians when they do a trick, as if it makes the magic happen. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/abracadabra/#m1)
2. (informal) Abracadabra also means words that sound clever or mysterious but make no sense. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/abracadabra/#m2)

### In the lessons

In stories, shows and children's magic tricks, «Abracadabra!» is said with a wave of a wand before a rabbit comes out of a hat. In history, it was once written on charms in ancient Rome to protect against illness; it is a very old word. In everyday life, «it's all abracadabra to me» means I don't understand it. Phrases: «say abracadabra».

### Examples

- «Abracadabra!» said the magician, and the coin vanished. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/abracadabra/#x1)
- My little sister waved her wand and shouted «Abracadabra!» [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/abracadabra/#x2)
- At the party the magician pulled a rabbit from his hat after saying abracadabra. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/abracadabra/#x3)
- Long ago, people wrote abracadabra on charms to keep sickness away. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/abracadabra/#x4)
- The instructions were pure abracadabra to Grandad. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/abracadabra/#x5)
- Saying abracadabra didn't make my homework disappear! [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/abracadabra/#x6)

### Note

Not a real spell: magic tricks work by skill and clever hiding, not by words. Say «ab-ra-ka-DAB-ra». Nobody is sure where the word comes from.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «abracadabra» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/abracadabra/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«abracadabra» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/abracadabra.html) on Mova free.