Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Abbreviation

//əˌbɹiː.viˈeɪ.ʃən// noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The result of shortening or reducing; abridgment. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    shortening something by omitting parts of it wordnet
  3. 3
    A shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase used to represent the whole, using omission of letters, and sometimes substitution of letters, or duplication of initial letters to signify plurality, including signs such as +, =, @. countable, uncountable

    "Hants is an abbreviation of Hampshire."

  4. 4
    a shortened form of a word or phrase wordnet
  5. 5
    The process of abbreviating. countable, uncountable
Show 5 more definitions
  1. 6
    A notation used in music score to denote a direction, as pp or mf. countable, uncountable
  2. 7
    One or more dashes through the stem of a note, dividing it respectively into quavers, semiquavers, demisemiquavers, or hemidemisemiquavers. countable, uncountable
  3. 8
    Any convenient short form used as a substitution for an understood or inferred whole. countable, uncountable

    "The phrase "civil rights" is an abbreviation for a whole complex of relationships."

  4. 9
    Loss during evolution of the final stages of the ancestral ontogenetic pattern. countable, uncountable
  5. 10
    Reduction to lower terms, as a fraction. countable, uncountable

Etymology

First attested 1400–50. From Middle English abbreviacioun, from Middle French abreviation, from Ecclesiastical Latin abbreviātiō, from Latin ab + breviō (“shorten”), from brevis (“short”). By surface analysis, abbreviate + -ion.

See also for "abbreviation"

Synonyms Antonyms Rhymes Sentences Translate Word Type Pronunciation Word Forms

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: abbreviation