abbreviation

noun

(linguistics) 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 +, =, @.

The result of shortening or reducing; abridgment.

The process of abbreviating.

Any convenient short form used as a substitution for an understood or inferred whole.

(music) A notation used in music score to denote a direction, as pp or mf.

(music) One or more dashes through the stem of a note, dividing it respectively into quavers, semiquavers, demisemiquavers, or hemidemisemiquavers.

(biology) Loss during evolution of the final stages of the ancestral ontogenetic pattern.

(mathematics) Reduction to lower terms, as a fraction.

Roots

brevisbrevi- · Latin · short

Synonyms for abbreviation

abridgmentn shorteningn

Synonyms & related words for abbreviation

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Words related to abbreviation

Explore words related to abbreviation — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include initialism, acronym, acronymous, acronymic, abbreviates, abbreviated, abbreviating, hemidemisemiquavers. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for abbreviation

Common synonyms for abbreviation include abridgment, shortening — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does abbreviation come from?

The word abbreviation breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root brevi-, from Latin brevis (“short”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.