The meaning of ABBREVIATE is to make briefer; especially : to reduce (a word or name) to a shorter form intended to stand for the whole. How to use abbreviate in a sentence.

ABBREVIATE meaning: 1. to make a word or phrase shorter by using only the first letters of each word: 2. to make a…. Learn more.

If you abbreviate something, especially a word or a piece of writing, you make it shorter. He abbreviated his first name to Alec. [VERB noun + to]

ABBREVIATE definition: to shorten (a word or phrase) by omitting letters, substituting shorter forms, etc., so that the shortened form can represent the whole word or phrase, as ft. for foot, ab. for about, …

Example of 15th-century Latin manuscript text with scribal abbreviations An abbreviation (from Latin brevis 'short') [1] is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening, …

Definition of abbreviate verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

To abbreviate is to shorten. Words are often abbreviated, like when we say sked instead of schedule.

Nov 27, 2025 · abbreviate (third-person singular simple present abbreviates, present participle abbreviating, simple past and past participle abbreviated) (obsolete, transitive) To shorten by …

to reduce (anything) in length, duration, etc.; make briefer: to abbreviate a speech. v.i. to use abbreviations.

Abbreviations may be used to save space and time, to avoid repetition of long words and phrases, or simply to conform to conventional usage. The styling of abbreviations is inconsistent and arbitrary …