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• Eg.
  Eg.

  abbreviation

  Egypt.
• e.g.
  e.g.

  abbreviation

  for example; for the sake of example; such as.
• eg
  eg

  abbreviation

  Egypt

Eg.

¹ American  

abbreviation

1. Egypt.

2. Egyptian.

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e.g. ² American  

[ee-jee] / ˈiˈdʒi /

abbreviation

1. for example; for the sake of example; such as.

   Let’s look at some important dates in American history—e.g., July 4, 1776.

   I collect the works of many poets (e.g., Dickinson, Frost, Angelou).

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eg ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. Egypt

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Eg. ² British  

abbreviation

1. Egypt(ian)

2. Egyptology

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e.g. ³ British  

abbreviation

1. exempli gratia

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e.g. Cultural  

1. An abbreviation meaning “for example.” It is short for the Latin exempli gratia, “for the sake of example.” A list of examples may be preceded by e.g.: “She loved exotic fruit, e.g., mangoes, passion fruit, and papayas.” (Compare i.e.)

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Commonly Confused

Latin as a school subject was once as common as chalk, from middle schools to universities. That may no longer be the case, but as speakers, writers, and readers, we still use and encounter plenty of Latin words and phrases. Sometimes these words and phrases are most familiar as abbreviations—the prime example being etc., which we use every day as a substitute for “and so forth” or “and so on.” Even though etc. is pronounced as if it were spelled out in full ( et cetera ), not everyone realizes that et cetera is in fact the two-word Latin phrase they’re using and that it literally does mean “and the rest.” While etc. may win the prize for frequency of use, there are two other Latin abbreviations that also are very familiar: e.g. and i.e. Unlike etc., neither e.g. nor i.e. is pronounced as if it were spelled out, but rather just by the initials (the same way you would pronounce a.m. / p.m. or FBI ). As useful abbreviations go, e.g. and i.e. are a great pair, but the main reason they’re even thought of as a pair is that they are sometimes confused, which is understandable given the absence of Latin in a typical modern education. So let’s have a quick Latin lesson and learn the simple facts about these two abbreviations. E.g., used as a substitute for the words “for example” or “such as,” is short for the Latin exemplī grātiā, which literally means “for the sake of example.” I.e., used as a substitute for the words “that is,” “that is to say,” or “in other words,” is short for the Latin id est, which literally means “that is.” Now that we’ve got the meanings down, let’s look at some actual usage. e.g. = “for example” • If you’re worried about a house full of dog hair, remember there are many nonshedding breeds—e.g., silky terriers, Basenjis, and Lhasa apsos. • I’ve got no food restrictions, but some things I’d sooner not eat, e.g., oysters. • The most applauded moments were her soliloquies—e.g., at the end of Scene 1. i.e. = “that is (to say)” or “in other words” • Our son’s adorable pound puppy is my favorite breed —i.e., a mutt! • There’s only one way I don’t like my potatoes prepared, i.e., boiled. • The critics called the performance “scintillating” and “dazzling”—i.e., they loved it. Hopefully, the preceding sentences have shown how useful (and very different in meaning) these abbreviations are, but that won’t help someone who wants to use one and can’t at the moment remember which one means what. If all else fails, think of e.g. as the beginning of egsample (not a real word, but one that sounds like example ). That technique may not make you a Latin scholar, but it might help put you on the right track to the right usage!

Etymology

Origin of e.g.

From Latin exemplī grātiā

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Eg. e.g. eg

Eg. translates to “for example” and i.e. translates to “in other words.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2019

Eg. a table can be centered, while the text inside the table is left-aligned.

From The Project Gutenberg RST Manual by Marcello Perathoner

The careers most directly helped by AI are those where the technology amplifies expensive expertise, e.g., diagnostic medicine, engineering, scientific research.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026

Men attempting to conceive are told to avoid heat to the genitals, e.g., avoiding hot tubs and biking shorts.

From Slate ● Apr. 16, 2026

“The outperformance appears to be owed to the dense clusters of advanced service industries, e.g. banking, finance and legal services, where RTO has been more prevalent.”

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 8, 2025

President Donald Trump’s Commerce Department upped the ante in September, determining that entities restrictions extended to any subsidiaries, e.g.,

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2025

So, too, in French you find ‘physic’ in the singular, not the plural, to mean natural science: e.g.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

The flyer also said: "In the name of Allah the best healer we aim to achieve over 90% cure rate in the most challenging illnesses eg cancers."

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026

They say, the "chancellor is refusing to fund any non-detained accommodation, eg Greek-style reception centres, because hotels are cheaper".

From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2024

"This is a softer trend than we've seen from other retailers eg Inditex," RBC analyst Richard Chamberlain said in a note.

From Reuters ● Mar. 30, 2023

“Few typos. eg ‘return to’ … not ‘retain to,’” he wrote, adding that he thought “dangerous” should be added to describe China.

From New York Times ● Mar. 9, 2023

Transcriber's Note Variable spelling is preserved as printed, eg cardamon, crême.

From The Myrtle Reed Cook Book by Reed, Myrtle

Related Words

• as
• for example
• for instance
• such as
• thus