An abbreviation is a short form of a word or phrase, made by leaving out some of the letters or by using only the first letter of each word.
The postal abbreviation for Kansas is KS.
Synonyms: shortening, reduction, résumé, trimming More Synonyms of abbreviation
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abbreviation in British English
(əˌbriːvɪˈeɪʃən)
noun
1.
a shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase used in place of the whole
2.
the process or result of abbreviating
abbreviation in American English
(əˌbriviˈeɪʃən)
noun
1.
a making shorter
2.
the fact or state of being made shorter
3.
a shortened form of a word or phrase, as N.Y. for New York, Mr. for Mister, lb for pound, ctn for cotangent
Word origin
ME < MFr abréviation < LL abbreviatio: see abbreviate
Examples of 'abbreviation' in a sentence
abbreviation
She is surely not alone of her generation in ignorance of such an archaic unit and its Latin abbreviation.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
In other languages
abbreviation
British English: abbreviation /əˌbriːvɪˈeɪʃən/ NOUN
An abbreviation is a short form of a word or phrase.
The postal abbreviation for Kansas is KS.
American English: abbreviation
Arabic: اِخْتِصار
Brazilian Portuguese: abreviação
Chinese: 缩略语
Croatian: kratica
Czech: zkratka
Danish: forkortelse
Dutch: afkorting
European Spanish: abreviatura
Finnish: lyhenne
French: abréviation
German: Abkürzung Kurzform
Greek: συντομογραφία
Italian: abbreviazione
Japanese: 略語
Korean: 약어
Norwegian: forkortelse
Polish: skrót wyraz
European Portuguese: abreviatura
Romanian: abreviere
Russian: сокращение
Latin American Spanish: abreviatura
Swedish: förkortning
Thai: อักษรย่อ
Turkish: kısaltma
Ukrainian: абревіатура
Vietnamese: chữ viết tắt
Chinese translation of 'abbreviation'
abbreviation
(əbriːvɪˈeɪʃən)
n(c)
缩(縮)写(寫) (suōxiě) (个(個), gè)
CD is an or the abbreviation for compact discCD是compact disc的缩(縮)写(寫) (CD shì compact disc de suōxiě)
(noun)
The postal abbreviation for Kansas is KS.
Synonyms
shortening
reduction
résumé
I will leave you a résumé of his speech.
trimming
clipping
summary
Here's a summary of the day's news.
abstract
If you want to submit a paper, you must supply an abstract.
digest
a regular digest of environmental statistics
contraction
`It's' is a contraction of `it is'.
compression
epitome
condensation
a condensation of a book that offers ten ways to be a better manager
compendium
His book is a delightful compendium of miscellaneous knowledge.
synopsis
For each title there is a brief synopsis of the book.
curtailment
précis
a nine-page précis of the manuscript
abridgment
The issue of abridgment is in the author's hands.
conspectus (formal)
truncation
subject word lists
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