Abbreviation Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

An abbreviation is a shortened form of a written word or phrase. Abbreviations may be used to save space and time, to avoid repetition of long words and ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut abbreviation noun SaveWord ab·​bre·​vi·​a·​tion |\ə-ˌbrē-vē-ˈā-shən \ Definitionofabbreviation 1 :ashortenedformofawrittenwordorphraseusedinplaceofthewholewordorphrase "Amt"isanabbreviationfor"amount.""USA"isanabbreviationof"UnitedStatesofAmerica." 2 :theactorresultofabbreviatingsomething:abridgment Iknowyouwouldnotbesatisfiedwithanabbreviationofitscontents,andyoushallhavethewhole,save,perhaps,afewpassageshereandthereofmerelytemporaryinteresttothewriter…—AnneBrontë Synonyms Whatisanabbreviation? What'sthedifferencebetweenanabbreviationandanacronym? MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutabbreviation Synonymsforabbreviation Synonyms abridgment (orabridgement), bowdlerization, condensation, digest VisittheThesaurusforMore  Whatisanabbreviation? Anabbreviationisashortenedformofawrittenwordorphrase.Abbreviationsmaybeusedtosavespaceandtime,toavoidrepetitionoflongwordsandphrases,orsimplytoconformtoconventionalusage. Thestylingofabbreviationsisinconsistentandarbitraryandincludesmanypossiblevariations.Someabbreviationsareformedbyomittingallbutthefirstfewlettersofaword;suchabbreviationsusuallyendinaperiod:Oct.forOctober,univ.foruniversity,andcont.forcontinued.Otherabbreviationsareformedbyomittinglettersfromthemiddleofthewordandusuallyalsoendinaperiod:govt.forgovernment,Dr.forDoctor,andatty.forattorney.AbbreviationsforthenamesofstatesintheU.S.aretwocapitalizedletters,e.g.,ARforArkansas,MEforMaine,andTXforTexas. Acronymsareabbreviationsformedfromtheinitiallettersofanexpandedphraseandusuallydonotincludeperiods:PRforpublicrelations,CEOforchiefexecutiveofficer,andBTWforbytheway.Someacronymsarepronouncedaswords:FEMAforFederalEmergencyManagementAgencyandNATOforNorthAtlanticTreatyOrganization.Althoughsomepeopleassertthatallacronymsnotpronouncedaswords,suchasEPAforEnvironmentalProtectionAgency,bereferredtoasinitialisms,thetermacronymisinfactappliedtoboth. What'sthedifferencebetweenanabbreviationandanacronym? SomepeopleareunsureofwhethertocallASAPorapptabbreviationsoracronyms.Bothabbreviationandacronymareusedtorefertoashortenedform,butanacronymisashortenedformofaphraseandisusuallymadeupoftheinitiallettersofthatphrase.Forexample,NATOcomesfrom“NorthAtlanticTreatyOrganization,”andASAPcomesfrom“assoonaspossible.”Abbreviations,ontheotherhand,canbeshortenedformsofwordsorphrases,andneednotnecessarilybemadeupoftheinitiallettersofeither.ASAPandappt(forappointment)arebothconsideredabbreviations,butonlyASAPisanacronym.Acronymsareatypeofabbreviation. ExamplesofabbreviationinaSentence RecentExamplesontheWeb InMayandJune,Lynnpunctuatedseveraltweetswiththesameabbreviation. — NBCNews,22Sep.2020 InMayandJune,Lynnpunctuatedseveraltweetswiththesameabbreviation. — NBCNews,22Sep.2020 TheuprisingbeganwhenthegovernmentabortedelectionstoavertalandslidevictorybytheIslamistparty,theIslamicSalvationFront,alsoknownbyitsFrenchabbreviation,F.I.S. — NewYorkTimes,17Sep.2021 Eachplayer’shomecitywasnotedinathree-letterabbreviation,largecapitalletters,inaverticalstripeonthefrontoftheshirt,withteamlogoblendedintothemix. — BostonGlobe.com,17July2021 ThefirstofficialAlaskapostalabbreviation—ALSK—cameinJune1963. — DavidReamer,AnchorageDailyNews,13Sep.2021 Theoriginalseriesiswell-knownbyitssimilarabbreviationHIMYM. — ChristianHolub,EW.com,18Aug.2021 Formanydecades,thepostofficedeclinedtodeclareanofficialAlaskaabbreviation. — DavidReamer,AnchorageDailyNews,13Sep.2021 InMayandJune,Lynnpunctuatedseveraltweetswiththesameabbreviation. — NBCNews,22Sep.2020 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'abbreviation.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofabbreviation 15thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense2 HistoryandEtymologyforabbreviation MiddleEnglishabbreviacioun"contraction,shortening,"borrowedfromAnglo-Frenchabreviation,borrowedfromLateLatinabbreviātiōn-,abbreviātiō,fromabbreviāre"toabbreviate"+Latin-tiōn-,-tiō,suffixofactionnouns LearnMoreAboutabbreviation Shareabbreviation PosttheDefinitionofabbreviationtoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofabbreviationonTwitter TimeTravelerforabbreviation Thefirstknownuseofabbreviationwas inthe15thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury FromtheEditorsatMerriam-Webster DiggingUptheLatinRootsof14... DiggingUptheLatinRootsof14Abbreviations Beyond'i.e.'and'e.g.' APramThroughtheNabe:WordsFormed... APramThroughtheNabe:WordsFormedbyShorteningandAlteration Newwordsthatcamefrombiggerwords I'llHavetheUs(ual) I'llHavetheUs(ual) Shortening'usual':easytosay,hardtospell DictionaryEntriesNearabbreviation abbreviatednumber abbreviation abbreviature SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforabbreviation LastUpdated 17Nov2021 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Abbreviation.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abbreviation.Accessed11Dec.2021. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforabbreviation abbreviation noun ab·​bre·​vi·​a·​tion |\ə-ˌbrē-vē-ˈā-shən \ KidsDefinitionofabbreviation :ashortenedformofawordorphrase MorefromMerriam-Websteronabbreviation Nglish:TranslationofabbreviationforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofabbreviationforArabicSpeakers Britannica.com:Encyclopediaarticleaboutabbreviation WORDOFTHEDAY secular SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary DifficultSpellingWordsQuiz Whichisthecorrectspelling? acommodate accomodate acommadate accommodate Testyourknowledge-andmaybelearnsomethingalongtheway. TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! Merriam-Websterunabridged WordsatPlay “InVinoVeritas”andOtherLatinPhrasestoLiveBy Top10LatinPhrases FavoriteQuotationsAboutWords,Vol.1 AKissisaLovelyTrick,&More Whatdoes'sus'mean? Thefactthatyou'reaskingiskindasus 19WordsfortheCrankyandDisagreeable We'renotmad.You'remad. AsktheEditors 'Everyday'vs.'EveryDay' Asimpletricktokeepthemseparate WhatIs'SemanticBleaching'? How'literally'canmean"figuratively" Literally Howtouseawordthat(literally)drivessomepe... IsSingular'They'aBetterChoice? Theawkwardcaseof'hisorher' WordGames NameEvenMoreColors MorethanROYGBIV Takethequiz ConfusingWordsStrikesAgain Howmanydoyouknow? Takethequiz TrueorFalse? Testyourknowledge-andmaybelearnsomethinga... Takethequiz