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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Word Generation Science - Measurement
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Kindred
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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:
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
We hurry them off the stage, warning them not to “taint” their legacy by deteriorating publicly in front of our pained eyes, and abbreviate what could be some fascinating third acts.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 2, 2020
Starz urged the playwright-turned-showrunner to abbreviate the name of her new series, which debuts Sunday — though not, Hall said, because the network itself was squeamish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2020
“O for the P,” as Farmer would eventually abbreviate the term, was a simple concept.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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
If you read her diary carefully, you'll see that she very frequently abbreviates her words, not only Tues., for Tuesday, and Dec., for December, but other words, just as the whim took her.
From The Diamond Pin by Carolyn Wells
Trading will be abbreviated in the coming week, with markets closed on Friday, June 3, in observance of the Fourth of July holiday.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 28, 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
She lost to Trump following an abbreviated campaign.
From Barron's ● May 27, 2026
She eventually went to an abbreviated culinary school and managed restaurants for Danny Meyer, a renowned restaurateur.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
When my dizziness cleared away, I found myself sitting on a small bed sheltered by a kind of abbreviated dark green canopy.
From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler
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
But the hastily built websites can be tripped up by someone abbreviating a word or putting an extra space in an address.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 6, 2020
And apologies were made, and understanding was reached, and they got back to abbreviating, and they said, “What’s next?”
From Slate ● Oct. 12, 2019
Our fellows have rather a low way of abbreviating it and bringing it down to 'Planty.'
From Molly Bawn by Margaret Wolfe Hamilton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
