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Definition of abbreviate
abbreviated
;abbreviating
transitive verb
: to make briefer an abbreviated session an abbreviated version of the story; especially : to reduce (a word or name) to a shorter form intended to stand for the whole You can abbreviate the word building as bldg. “United States of America” is commonly abbreviated to ”USA.”
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Recent Examples of abbreviate from the Web
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The restaurant had been closed for nearly two years, and although this past weekend’s hours were abbreviated, regular hours for breakfast, lunch, dinner and weekend brunch begin today.
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Here in the D.F.—Distrito Federal, the Spanish term those in the know like to abbreviate—native ingredients and traditions blend with cosmopolitan style for a restaurant scene that’s reliably risk-tasking (ant larvae, anyone?).
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Practice lasted just a minute less than an hour, so notes will be abbreviated. 1.
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On Monday, the high court granted a petition to hear Oil States Energy Services v. Greene's Energy Group, which directly challenges the legality of inter partes reviews, often abbreviated as IPRs.
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While some airlines pay close attention to the full name, the reservations systems can’t always fit the entire, full name on the ticket, so they may be abbreviated or overlooked entirely.
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His career with the Bears has been up and down, abbreviated by two foot and two knee injuries.
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The firm became known as the Leslie Salt Refining Co. Mergers followed and, in 1936, the name was abbreviated to simply Leslie Salt.
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USC’s Monday practice was abbreviated after a late return from Phoenix the previous night.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'abbreviate'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Abbreviate and abridge both mean "to make shorter," so it probably will come as no surprise that both derive from the Latin verb brevis, meaning "short." Abbreviate first appeared in print in English in the 15th century and derives from abbreviatus, the past participle of Late Latin abbreviare, which in turn can be traced back to brevis. Abridge, which appeared a century earlier, also comes from abbreviare but took a side trip through Anglo-French before arriving in Middle English as abregen. Brevis is also the ancestor of English brief itself, as well as brevity and breviary ("a prayer book" or "a brief summary"), among others.
Origin and Etymology of abbreviate
Middle English abbreviaten, borrowed from Late Latin abbreviātus, past participle of abbreviāre “to make shorter” — more at abridge
Synonym Discussion of abbreviate
ABBREVIATE Defined for Kids
Learn More about abbreviate
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See words that rhyme with abbreviate Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for abbreviate Spanish Central: Translation of abbreviate Nglish: Translation of abbreviate for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of abbreviate for Arabic speakers
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