abbreviation
gb/əbɹˌiviˈeɪʃən/ us/əbɹˌiviˈeɪʃən/
B1
English
~ 7400
Senses
0 senses
Noun
B1
entity
1
shortened form of a word or phrase
A short way to write a word, name, or phrase instead of writing all the letters.
Usage pattern:
an abbreviation for [word/phrase]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse "abbreviation" with "acronym". An acronym is one type of abbreviation (made from the first letters of words, like "UN" or "NATO"), but an abbreviation can also be a shortened form that is not just initials (like "Dr." for "Doctor" or "approx." for "approximately"). Learners also sometimes say "What is the abbreviation of this word?" when a more natural pattern is "What is the abbreviation for this word?"
Synonyms
short form (More informal and general; not limited to written language.)
|
acronym (Refers specifically to abbreviations made from initial letters, often pronounced as a word (e.g. NATO), not all abbreviations.)
Antonyms
full form (Refers to writing the entire word or phrase instead of the shortened version.)
|
spelled-out form (Emphasizes that every letter of the word or phrase is written, not shortened.)
Collocations
common abbreviation
|standard abbreviation
|official abbreviation
|two-letter abbreviation
|list of abbreviations
|use the abbreviation
Themes
language
|writing
|education
|communication
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The abbreviation for "doctor" is "Dr.".
- Please explain what this abbreviation stands for before using it in the report.
- The back of the book has a list of medical abbreviations.
- In text messages, "btw" is a common abbreviation for "by the way".
- We use the abbreviation "EU" for the European Union throughout the article.
Learner examples
- Is "USA" an abbreviation for "United States of America"?
- I do not understand this abbreviation in the email.
- The teacher wrote the abbreviation on the board.
- "Jan" is an abbreviation for the month of January.
- This dictionary shows many abbreviations and their meanings.
Noun
B2
action
2
process of shortening a word in writing
The action of making a short written form of a word, name, or phrase.
Usage pattern:
the abbreviation of [word/phrase] to [short form]
Common mistake:
Learners often do not recognize that "abbreviation" can name the process as well as the result. They may use only verbs like "shorten" and avoid the noun phrase pattern "the abbreviation of X to Y" in more formal writing.
Synonyms
shortening (General term; can refer to making anything shorter, not only written forms.)
|
contraction (More specific; often refers to combining words by leaving out letters or sounds (e.g. "don't"), not all types of abbreviation.)
Antonyms
spelling out (Describes writing or saying every part of a word or phrase instead of shortening it.)
|
expansion (Refers to writing or explaining the full form instead of keeping it short.)
Collocations
the abbreviation of
|rules for abbreviation
|use of abbreviation
|practice of abbreviation
Themes
language
|writing
|communication
|education
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The abbreviation of "Professor" to "Prof." is common in British English.
- In technical writing, the abbreviation of long terms should be explained at first use.
- The style guide discourages the abbreviation of months in formal letters.
- Abbreviation of job titles is not allowed in this database.
- The abbreviation of company names can cause confusion in legal documents.
Learner examples
- The abbreviation of "street" is usually "St." in addresses.
- Some teachers do not like the abbreviation of words in essays.
- The abbreviation of long names can make the text easier to read.
- This chart shows the abbreviation of each country name.
- We talked about the abbreviation of days of the week in English.
Grammar
Dictionary form
abbreviation
IPA
GB/əbɹˌiviˈeɪʃən/
US/əbɹˌiviˈeɪʃən/
Syllables & stress
ab - bre - vi - ation (4 syllables)
Stress on 4th syllable (ation)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: abbreviation
- Plural: abbreviation, abbreviations
Word family
Forms
abbreviations
noun
Core family
abbreviate
verb
abbreviated
adjective
Related words
acronym
noun B2
initialism
noun
Negative and opposite forms
unabbreviated
adjective
Expressions
abbreviation for
1/əbɹˌiviˈeɪʃən fɚ/
fixed phrase
used to show what a short form means
Used to say that a short group of letters means a longer word or phrase.
Examples
- "UK" is an abbreviation for "United Kingdom."
- What is the abbreviation for this chemical term?
- "ASAP" is an abbreviation for "as soon as possible."