abbreviate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
abbreviates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
abbreviated,
past participle, past
-
abbreviating
present participle
-
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)
-
abbreviates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
abbreviated,
past participle, past
-
abbreviating
present participle
verb
-
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
Synonym Usage
See shorten.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
abbreviatesimple
-
abbreviatessimple
-
have abbreviatedperfect
-
has abbreviatedperfect
-
am abbreviatingprogressive
-
are abbreviatingprogressive
-
is abbreviatingprogressive
-
have been abbreviatingperfect progressive
-
has been abbreviatingperfect progressive
Past
-
abbreviatedsimple
-
had abbreviatedperfect
-
was abbreviatingprogressive
-
were abbreviatingprogressive
-
had been abbreviatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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 -ate 1 )
Explanation
To abbreviate is to shorten. Words are often abbreviated, like when we say sked instead of schedule. Though we most often think about words being abbreviated — especially terms like OMG and LOL for "oh my God" and "laugh out loud" — lots of things can be abbreviated. You just have to shorten them. Sudden rain might abbreviate a baseball game. A bomb threat would abbreviate a school day. Anytime something is being shortened or cut, abbreviation is going on.
Vocabulary lists containing abbreviate
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"These are minutes drawn up by notaries who abbreviate their decisions. The script is highly administrative, very pragmatic... with rather technical vocabulary," said historian Julie Claustre, who leads the e-NDP project.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
The strands consist of almost endless rows of four small molecules that we abbreviate to A, C, G and T.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 9, 2024
“We can often abbreviate and accelerate what we can do in terms of training for Ukrainian army soldiers,” he told reporters Wednesday.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 25, 2023
Already, public health agencies, researchers and nonprofit organizations around the world have taken it upon themselves to abbreviate or shorten the controversial name.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2022
You can abbreviate ‘A Dios Gracias' by writing ‘A.D.G.’ if you want to.”
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
Supporters - who dislike the phrase as it wrongly abbreviates the county rather than the city - quickly took to social media to voice their disgruntlement after it aired on Monday evening.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2022
But this make-ahead recipe abbreviates the waiting time too and offers flavorful, tender potatoes and crunchy bits of onion and celery, accented by a creamy dressing.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2021
Raine radically abbreviates the story of the young woman’s tasks, only mentioning the last and hardest, to obtain a vessel of black, icy, Styx-infected water.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 5, 2019
The way Ms. Rebet abbreviates the men, especially, is lovely, like an elegant hieratic calligraphy.
From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2018
The new method abbreviates the time, since an electric current can tally almost simultaneously the data, the tallying of which by hand would be separated by appreciable intervals.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 6 "Celtes, Konrad" to "Ceramics" by Various
Through Wednesday’s abbreviated outing, Snell has a 1.86 ERA.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
The bond names are abbreviated, and the coupons are also listed in that column.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor, often abbreviated as BDNF, is a protein involved in the growth, maintenance, and survival of nerve cells and is frequently studied in mental health research.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 17, 2026
The White House said that medication lists in executive summaries, like the one they provided on Friday, are often abbreviated for readability and relevance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
I was glad to get past the abbreviated reference to slavery.
From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers
If you want to seem sincere and receive more responses to your texts, spell out words instead of abbreviating them, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 14, 2024
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese has been nicknamed Albo since he was a child in keeping with a time-honored Australian tradition of abbreviating names and often adding “o” at the end.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 9, 2022
And then the boss said: “Guys, I hate to be a noodge, but could we get back to abbreviating the states? We still have 49 left.”
From Slate ● Oct. 12, 2019
DEFinitions: Report from Week 1238 In Week 1238 we continued three-letter abbreviating through the alphabet with some DEF, FED, EDF, etc., phrases.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 24, 2017
We would take a step or two, and then pause to look at a portrait, while my energetic host threw out an explanatory phrase whimsically abbreviating the names of the men he liked best.
From London Days A Book of Reminiscences by Arthur Warren
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
