What does abbreviation mean?
Definitions for abbreviation
əˌbri viˈeɪ ʃənab·bre·vi·a·tion
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word abbreviation.
Princeton's WordNet
abbreviationnoun
a shortened form of a word or phrase
abbreviationnoun
shortening something by omitting parts of it
Wiktionary
abbreviationnoun
A shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase, used to represent the whole: Dr.
abbreviationnoun
The act or result of shortening or reducing.
abbreviationnoun
One or more dashes through the stem of a note, dividing it respectively into quavers, semiquavers, demisemiquavers, or hemidemisemiquavers.
abbreviationnoun
A notation used in music score to denote a direction, as pp or mf.
abbreviationnoun
Any convenient spoken or written short form for an understood or inferred whole.
abbreviationnoun
Reduction to lower terms, as a fraction.
abbreviationnoun
Loss during evolution of the final stages of the ancestral ontogenetic pattern.
Etymology: * First attested 1400–50.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Abbreviationnoun
Such is the propriety and energy of expression in them all, that they never can be changed, but to disadvantage, except in the circumstance of using abbreviations. Jonathan Swift, Introduction to genteel conversation.
Wikipedia
Abbreviation
An abbreviation (from Latin brevis, meaning short ) is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase, for example, the word abbreviation can itself be represented by the abbreviation abbr., abbrv., or abbrev.; nil by mouth is an abbreviated medical instruction. It may also consist of initials only, a mixture of initials and words, or words or letters representing words in another language (for example, e.g., i.e. or RSVP). Some types of abbreviations are acronyms (which are pronounceable), initialisms (using initials only), or grammatical contractions or crasis. An abbreviation is a shortening by any of these, or other, methods.
Webster Dictionary
Abbreviationnoun
the act of shortening, or reducing
Abbreviationnoun
the result of abbreviating; an abridgment
Abbreviationnoun
the form to which a word or phrase is reduced by contraction and omission; a letter or letters, standing for a word or phrase of which they are a part; as, Gen. for Genesis; U.S.A. for United States of America
Abbreviationnoun
one dash, or more, through the stem of a note, dividing it respectively into quavers, semiquavers, or demi-semiquavers
Etymology: [LL. abbreviatio: cf. F. abbrviation.]
Freebase
Abbreviation
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase. For example, the word abbreviation can itself be represented by the abbreviation abbr., abbrv. or abbrev. In strict analysis, abbreviations should not be confused with contractions or acronyms, with which they share some semantic and phonetic functions, though all three are connoted by the term "abbreviation" in loose parlance.An abbreviation is a shortening by any method; a contraction is a reduction of size by the drawing together of the parts. A contraction of a word is made by omitting certain letters or syllables and bringing together the first and last letters or elements; an abbreviation may be made by omitting certain portions from the interior or by cutting off a part. A contraction is an abbreviation, but an abbreviation is not necessarily a contraction. However, normally, acronyms are regarded as a subgroup of abbreviations. Abbreviations can also be used to give a different context to the word itself, such as "PIN Number".
Editors Contribution
abbreviation
Letters to describe a word.
The abbreviation for United Nations is UN.
Submitted by MaryC on March 3, 2020
Suggested Resources
Abbreviation
Abbreviate vs. Abbreviation -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Abbreviate and Abbreviation.
Matched Categories
Anagrams for abbreviation »
abate vibiron
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of abbreviation in Chaldean Numerology is: 1
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of abbreviation in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1
Examples of abbreviation in a Sentence
I'm perplexed when people adopt the modish abbreviation Ms., which doesn't abbreviate anything except common sense.
For us, there is no difference between the PKK, PYD, YPG, DHKP-C ... or whatever their abbreviation may be. One terrorist organization is no different than the other.
A crash is when your competitor's program dies. When your program dies, it is an 'idiosyncrasy'. Frequently, crashes are followed with a message like 'ID 02'. 'ID' is an abbreviation for idiosyncrasy and the number that follows indicates how many more months of testing the product should have had.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
Translations for abbreviation
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- اختصارArabic
- abbreviaturaAzerbaijani
- абрэвіяту́раBelarusian
- съкращаване, абревиату́ра, скъсяванеBulgarian
- abreviaturaCatalan, Valencian
- krácení, zkrácení, zkratkaCzech
- talfyriadWelsh
- forkortelseDanish
- Kurzform, Kürzel, Kurzbezeichnung, Abkürzung, KürzenGerman
- συντομογραφία, σύνοψη, συντόμευση, σύντμηση, βραχυγραφίαGreek
- mallongigoEsperanto
- abreviaciónSpanish
- lyhenne, lyhennys, lyhennelmä, lyhennysmerkki, lyhennös, lyhentäminenFinnish
- styttingFaroese
- abréviationFrench
- ôfkoartingWestern Frisian
- nod, giorrúchán, giorrúIrish
- giorrachadhScottish Gaelic
- abreviaturaGalician
- ראשי תיבותHebrew
- संक्षिप्त नामHindi
- rövidítésHungarian
- հապավումArmenian
- skammstöfun, styttingIcelandic
- abbreviatura, abbreviazione, riassunto, acronimoItalian
- נוֹטָרִיקוֹןHebrew
- 短縮, 略語, 省略, 略, 略字Japanese
- 약자, 생략, 약어Korean
- berrheansCornish
- abbreviātiō, abbreviationLatin
- OfkierzungLuxembourgish, Letzeburgesch
- abbrevjazzjoniMaltese
- forkorting, forkortelseNorwegian
- afkorting, verkortingDutch
- forkortingNorwegian Nynorsk
- forkorting, forkortelseNorwegian
- abreviacionOccitan
- redukcja, skrót, skracaniePolish
- abreviação, abreviaturaPortuguese
- prescurtare, abreviere, abreviațieRomanian
- сокраще́ние, аббревиа́ция, аббревиату́ра, уреза́ние, сокращениеRussian
- abrevijacija, skraćenica, абревијација, kratica, скраћеницаSerbo-Croatian
- skratkaSlovak
- kratica, okrajšavaSlovene
- förkortning, förkortandeSwedish
- సంక్షిప్తTelugu
- ตัวย่อThai
- kısaltmaTurkish
- абревіату́раUkrainian
- bài tóm tắt, từ viết tắt, chữ viết tắt, sự rút gọn, sự rút ngắnVietnamese
- 缩写Chinese
Get even more translations for abbreviation »
Translation
Find a translation for the abbreviation definition in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Word of the Day
Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?
Citation
Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"abbreviation." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. Web. 27 Mar. 2023. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/abbreviation>.
Discuss these abbreviation definitions with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In