Definitions for abbreviation
əˌbri viˈeɪ ʃənab·bre·vi·a·tion

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.5 / 4 votes

1. abbreviationnoun

   a shortened form of a word or phrase

2. abbreviationnoun

   shortening something by omitting parts of it

WiktionaryRate this definition:2.0 / 3 votes

1. abbreviationnoun

   A shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase, used to represent the whole: Dr.

2. abbreviationnoun

   The act or result of shortening or reducing.

3. abbreviationnoun

   One or more dashes through the stem of a note, dividing it respectively into quavers, semiquavers, demisemiquavers, or hemidemisemiquavers.

4. abbreviationnoun

   A notation used in music score to denote a direction, as pp or mf.

5. abbreviationnoun

   Any convenient spoken or written short form for an understood or inferred whole.

6. abbreviationnoun

   Reduction to lower terms, as a fraction.

7. abbreviationnoun

   Loss during evolution of the final stages of the ancestral ontogenetic pattern.

8. Etymology: * First attested 1400–50.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Abbreviationnoun

   1. The act of abbreviating.2. The means used to abbreviate, as characters signifying whole words.

   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.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. 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 DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Abbreviationnoun

   the act of shortening, or reducing

2. Abbreviationnoun

   the result of abbreviating; an abridgment

3. 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

4. Abbreviationnoun

   one dash, or more, through the stem of a note, dividing it respectively into quavers, semiquavers, or demi-semiquavers

5. Etymology: [LL. abbreviatio: cf. F. abbrviation.]

FreebaseRate this definition:2.5 / 2 votes

1. 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 ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. abbreviation

   Letters to describe a word.

   The abbreviation for United Nations is UN.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on March 3, 2020  

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Abbreviation

   Abbreviate vs. Abbreviation -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Abbreviate and Abbreviation.

Matched Categories

1. • Form
   • Shortening

Anagrams for abbreviation »

1. abate vibiron

How to pronounce abbreviation?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say abbreviation in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of abbreviation in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of abbreviation in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of abbreviation in a Sentence

1. Dick Cavett:

   I'm perplexed when people adopt the modish abbreviation Ms., which doesn't abbreviate anything except common sense.

2. President Tayyip Erdogan:

   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.

3. Guy Kawasaki:

   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.

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