ABC
noun
ABC
1 American
[ey-bee-see]
/ ˈeɪˌbiˈsi /
noun
-
ABC's,
plural
-
ABCs
plural
ABC
2
American
abbreviation
-
Trademark. American Broadcasting Companies: a television and radio network.
-
atomic, biological, and chemical.
ABC warfare.
A.B.C.
3
American
abbreviation
-
Advance Booking Charter.
-
Alcoholic Beverage Control.
ABC
1
British
abbreviation
-
(formerly, of weapons or warfare) atomic, biological, and chemical
-
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
-
American Broadcasting Company
-
Audit Bureau of Circulation
-
Australian-born Chinese: a person with Chinese parents, born and raised in Australia
-
American-born Chinese: a person with Chinese parents, born and raised in the US
-
acceptable behaviour contract: a voluntary written agreement between someone who has been involved in anti-social behaviour and a local agency such as a housing association, council, or police
ABC
2
British
noun
-
(plural in US) the rudiments of a subject
-
an alphabetical guide to a subject
-
(often plural in US) the alphabet
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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:
He survived but lost part of his leg, another surfer who rescued him told the ABC.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
It’s as simple as ABC: agency, belonging and cause.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
"We will remember his extraordinary creativity, his warmth, his curiosity and the way he saw beauty and possibility everywhere," his son Adam Max said in a statement to ABC News.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
Smart previously won Emmys for guest actress playing Lana Garner on “Frasier” in 2000 and 2001, and in 2008, she won for supporting actress for playing Regina Newly on the ABC sitcom “Samantha Who?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
She got disgusted and said, Ye gads, like ABC gum, already been chewed.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Sunday had been “very, very slow,” according to a server at A.B.C. who declined to give her name.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2023
The same year that T.P.S. became law, federal officials reached out to Van Der Hout through an intermediary, he says, to see if they could settle A.B.C. v.
From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2021
When he wrote a book called The A.B.C. of Golf, Armour had no difficulty with the letter Y. The Yips drove him out of tournament golf.
From Golf Digest ● Mar. 31, 2020
Among them: “Double Indemnity,” “Strangers on a Train,” “The A.B.C. Murders” and “The Secret History.”
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 2020
I shall go and get something to eat at an "A.B.C."
From The Brass Bottle A Farcical Fantastic Play in Four Acts by F. Anstey
He told ABC's Good Morning America that he was upset that the lone juror would not acquit Clancy.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Kevin Reddington told ABC's Good Morning America programme he was upset a lone member of the jury would not acquit Lindsay Clancy.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
But ABC’s decision to switch stations in St. Louis next month is getting scrutiny from Federal Communications Chairman Brendan Carr, who is already engaged in multiple legal battles with the Disney-owned network.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The lawsuit seeks emergency relief to stop the agency’s early renewal proceeding and any resulting threat against ABC’s station licenses.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
The morning melted away as we spelled each other down and taught Little Britches her ABC’s.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
“The ABCs are very important,” said Teresa Amabile, a professor emerita at Harvard Business School.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
It’s organized in these ABCs that you can pick up at any chapter and check out a bee you’ve never heard of before.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2025
Under her firm hand, my classmates and I marched through our ABCs in unison, voicing each letter like an orchestra tuning for a show.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025
Last year, “The ABCs of Book Banning” presented surface-level facts that did little to move the needle on the important topic of books that are being prohibited in school libraries.
From Salon ● Mar. 1, 2025
Meanwhile the paramedic who rode with the baby in the ambulance was following the ABCs for resuscitation—airway, breathing, and circulation.
From "Silent To The Bone" by E.L. Konigsburg
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.
