noun
abbreviation
uh-bree-vee-AY-shuhn
noun
1
A shortened form of a word or phrase, standing in for the full version.
""Dr." is the abbreviation for "doctor"."
"The report was full of abbreviations that confused new employees."
How to Use Abbreviation
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA shorter way of writing a longer word or phrase.
Common mistake
An abbreviation is different from an acronym — an acronym is a special type of abbreviation that's pronounced as a word, like "NASA".
Easily confused with
Common pairings
common abbreviation
abbreviation for
Word Forms
abbreviations plural
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Etymology
From Middle French abreviation, from Ecclesiastical Latin abbreviātiō, from Latin brevis ("short").