abbreviate
verb
Simple meaning
To reduce a word or phrase using contraction or omission to a shorter recognizable form.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhbreeveeaytSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əbˈɹivieɪt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To reduce a word or phrase by means of contraction or omission to a shorter recognizable form.
transitivemathematics
To reduce to lower terms, as a fraction.
transitive
To make shorter; to shorten (in time); to abridge; to shorten by ending sooner than planned.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To reduce a word or phrase by means of contraction or omission to a shorter recognizable form.
'Abbreviate' means to shorten a word or phrase, often for convenience, like turning 'Mister' into 'Mr.' It's a common, everyday verb, unlike the more formal 'abridge.'
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where you'll really hear it
School homework
“Please abbreviate 'pages' to 'pp.' in your citations.”
Writing instructions
“You can abbreviate long titles in the bibliography.”
Casual conversation
“I always abbreviate my name on forms.”
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to reduce a word
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.