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• abs
  abs

  plural noun

  abdominal muscles.
• ABS
  ABS

  antilock braking system.
• abs-
  abs-

  variant of ab-.
• abs.
  abs.

  abbreviation

  absent.
• A.B.S.
  A.B.S.

  abbreviation

  American Bible Society.

abs

¹ American  

[abz] / æbz /

plural noun

Informal.

1. abdominal muscles.

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ABS ² American  

1. antilock braking system.

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abs- ³ American  

1. variant of ab-.

   absent; abscond.

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abs. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. absent.

2. absolute.

3. abstract.

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A.B.S. ⁵ American  

abbreviation

1. American Bible Society.

2. American Bureau of Shipping.

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ABS ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene: any of a range of tough copolymers used esp for making moulded articles

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abs ² British  

/ æbz /

plural noun

1. informal abdominal muscles

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Etymology

Origin of abs

An Americanism dating back to 1980–85; by shortening

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

abs ABS abs. A.B.S.

Does it hurt?,’ ” said Colleen Ferguson, who owns EMS Body Atelier in Santa Barbara, Calif. Her “obsessed” converts tout toned glutes and abs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026

In one of the Super Bowl slots, a short man asks a representation of an AI assistant how to get six-pack abs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026

"Today the artists... give them six-pack abs and muscles."

From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 2026

The quest for brick-like abs has become serious business - even if you're still only in Year 8 - with posts on socials with hashtags like #shreddedphysique being viewed more than four billion times.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2025

I stretch my feet, calves, quads, abs, arms, neck, everything.

From "Black Brother, Black Brother" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

By the fifth, the Dodgers were out of ABS challenges, with Miguel Rojas tapping his helmet to check on a called strike that wound up being squarely in the strike zone.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

The largest contributors to annual inflation in June were housing, food and non-alcoholic beverages costs, the ABS said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

At the All-Star Game, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he believes the implementation of ABS has “made the umpiring even better, because they have to bear down even more.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

But a successful Rockies ABS challenge confirmed a strikeout, sending the game into the 10th inning.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

It was called an ABS, or asset-backed security.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

“It’s not about personalities or somebody’s abs. There’s no salaciousness about it, it is purely about the music.”

From The Guardian ● Nov. 17, 2016

Means, abl. of, 218; —— abl. abs. denoting, 227, 2; —— denoted by partic.,

From New Latin Grammar by Charles E. (Charles Edwin) Bennett

But, in that case, we can perceive no reason why the Inf. abs. should be placed before the tempus finitum.

From Christology of the Old Testament: And a Commentary on the Messianic Predictions, Vol. 1 by Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg

In 1907, the A.B.S. set out to reinvigorate the Bison bison bison population by sending fifteen Bronx-born bison, by train, to the Wichita Reserve Bison Refuge.

From The New Yorker ● May 13, 2016

Thanks to the efforts of the A.B.S. and of private ranchers, North America is today home to some half a million bison, most of them in captivity.

From The New Yorker ● May 13, 2016

"I thought it was going to be over the top, but it was more about simplicity and elegance," said Allen Schwartz, co-owner of A.B.S., which is known for pumping out copies of celebrity dresses.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 30, 2011

Pumping out celebrity-inspired dresses isn't new for companies like A.B.S.,

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 30, 2011

His version of the Old Testament, first published by the American Bible Society in 1875, has since been repeatedly issued by both the A.B.S. and the B.F.B.S.

From Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ by B.D.