What does abbreviation mean?
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase that stands in for the full version, such as 'Dr.' for Doctor, 'etc.' for et cetera, or 'NASA' for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The term also refers to the act of shortening something more generally. Abbreviations serve economy and speed: they save space in writing, streamline speech, and allow specialists to refer efficiently to long or technical names. They take many shapes — truncated words ('info'), clipped phrases, initialisms pronounced letter by letter ('BBC'), and acronyms spoken as words ('radar'). Style conventions vary by region and context: some publications spell terms out on first use before introducing an abbreviation, and punctuation practices differ between British and American English. While indispensable in everyday communication, abbreviations can obscure meaning for readers unfamiliar with them, which is why careful writers use established forms and define new ones clearly.
nounA shortened form of a word or phrase, such as 'Dr.' for 'Doctor' or 'NASA' for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; also, the act or process of shortening something.
- A shortened form of a word or phrase used in place of the full form.
- The act or process of making something shorter; abridgment.
"'NASA' is an abbreviation of the agency's full name."
"Please write out the words in full rather than using abbreviations in formal essays."
"The report included a helpful list of abbreviations at the front."
Regular plural; used when referring to multiple shortened forms, often in lists or glossaries.
"The textbook includes a glossary of scientific abbreviations."
The Romans were so fond of abbreviations that they carved them into stone monuments — and one medieval scribe's habit of shortening words gave us the ampersand's cousin, the Tironian notes system with thousands of symbols.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of abbreviation
Abbreviation comes from the Latin verb abbreviare, meaning 'to make brief or shorten', formed from brevis ('short') plus the prefix ad-. The word entered English via Late Latin abbreviatio, becoming established in English during the early modern period, when scholarly and legal texts relied heavily on shortened forms. It shares its Latin root with related English words such as brevity, brief, and breviary.
Related word forms
How abbreviation is actually used
Neutral in register: appropriate in both casual and technical writing, though many style guides discourage unfamiliar abbreviations in formal prose. In American English, periods are often omitted in abbreviations made of capital letters (USA), while British style traditionally retains them (U.S.A.), though modern British usage increasingly follows the American pattern.
Easily confused with abbreviation
An acronym is a specific type of abbreviation formed from the initial letters of a phrase and pronounced as a word (like NASA), whereas abbreviation is the broader term covering any shortened form.