abbreviate

[ uh-bree-vee-eyt ]

See synonyms for: abbreviate abbreviated abbreviating on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),ab·bre·vi·at·ed, ab·bre·vi·at·ing.

to shorten (a word or phrase) by omitting letters, substituting shorter forms, etc., so that the shortened form can represent the whole word or phrase, as ft. for foot, ab. for about, R.I. for Rhode Island, NW for Northwest, or Xn for Christian.
to reduce (anything) in length, duration, etc.; make briefer: to abbreviate a speech.

verb (used without object),ab·bre·vi·at·ed, ab·bre·vi·at·ing.

to use abbreviations.

Origin of abbreviate

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English abbreviaten, from Late Latin abbreviātus shortened (past participle of abbreviāre), equivalent to Latin ad-ad- + breviātus (brevi(s) “short“ + -ātus-ate¹)

synonym study For abbreviate

See shorten.

Other words from abbreviate

ab·bre·vi·a·tor, noun

Words Nearby abbreviate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use abbreviate in a sentence

Many places might require advance reservations and have abbreviated hours, so check their websites in advance.
What to know as Europe reopens to U.S. travelers | Andrea Sachs | August 25, 2021 | Washington Post
Baltimore is on track to finish last in the AL East for the fourth time in five seasons, with the only outlier being last year’s pandemic-abbreviated season, when the Orioles finished fourth, one game ahead of the Red Sox.
Flailing toward history, the Orioles approach another monumental low | Neil Greenberg, Matt Bonesteel | August 25, 2021 | Washington Post
Often abbreviated to TW, tongue weight is the force that a trailer’s tongue exerts on the ball hitch.
What the towing capacity numbers on your truck really mean | Jonathon Klein/Car Bibles | August 24, 2021 | Popular-Science
Ever since the 17th century, when mariners began seeking the mythologized Northwest Passage above Canada, the great sail over the top of the world has been an object of desire because of its potential to abbreviate transit times.
The world’s newest shipping route: the Arctic | Samanth Subramanian | May 23, 2021 | Quartz
This somber performance, even when abbreviated to just nine minutes, should make spectators profoundly uncomfortable.
In the galleries: A painful, political take on the art of cruel shoes | Mark Jenkins | April 9, 2021 | Washington Post

And it's easier to delay something than to make something happen, so things tended to elongate rather than abbreviate.
Donald Rumsfeld on What Went Right | John Barry | February 8, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
In all letters of this sort they always abbreviate some words; it looks more business-like.
Marjorie's Busy Days | Carolyn Wells
On the days when there is washing or sweeping or baking to do she will have to abbreviate other things.
The Library of Work and Play: Housekeeping | Elizabeth Hale Gilman
Gentlemen, I have seen fit to abbreviate the King's message.
Makers of Madness | Hermann Hagedorn
Every thing tends in a wonderful manner to abbreviate itself and yield its own virtue to him.
Essays, First Series | Ralph Waldo Emerson
By this time you can pretty well imagine them, and my story is likely to be too long, unless I abbreviate.
The New Penelope and Other Stories and Poems | Frances Fuller Victor

British Dictionary definitions for abbreviate

abbreviate

/ (əˈbriːvɪˌeɪt) /

verb(tr)

to shorten (a word or phrase) by contraction or omission of some letters or words
to shorten (a speech or piece of writing) by omitting sections, paraphrasing, etc

to cut short

Origin of abbreviate

C15: from the past participle of Late Latin abbreviāre, from Latin brevis brief

Derived forms of abbreviate

abbreviator, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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