What is an abbreviation?

An abbreviation is a shortened form of a written word or phrase. 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 and includes many possible variations. Some abbreviations are formed by omitting all but the first few letters of a word; such abbreviations usually end in a period: Oct. for October, univ. for university, and cont. for continued. Other abbreviations are formed by omitting letters from the middle of the word and usually also end in a period: govt. for government, Dr. for Doctor, and atty. for attorney. Abbreviations for the names of states in the U.S. are two capitalized letters, e.g., AR for Arkansas, ME for Maine, and TX for Texas.

Acronyms are abbreviations formed from the initial letters of an expanded phrase and usually do not include periods: PR for public relations, CEO for chief executive officer, and BTW for by the way. Some acronyms are pronounced as words: FEMA for Federal Emergency Management Agency and NATO for North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Although some people assert that all acronyms not pronounced as words, such as EPA for Environmental Protection Agency, be referred to as initialisms, the term acronym is in fact applied to both.

What's the difference between an abbreviation and an acronym?

Some people are unsure of whether to call ASAP or appt abbreviations or acronyms. Both abbreviation and acronym are used to refer to a shortened form, but an acronym is a shortened form of a phrase and is usually made up of the initial letters of that phrase. For example, NATO comes from “North Atlantic Treaty Organization,” and ASAP comes from “as soon as possible.” Abbreviations, on the other hand, can be shortened forms of words or phrases, and need not necessarily be made up of the initial letters of either. ASAP and appt (for appointment) are both considered abbreviations, but only ASAP is an acronym. Acronyms are a type of abbreviation.

Examples of abbreviation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In May and June, Lynn punctuated several tweets with the same abbreviation. — NBC News, 22 Sep. 2020 The company is often recognized by its abbreviation, XAB. — Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE.com, 8 June 2022 Just over a century ago, in 1920, German confectioner Hans Riegel Sr. struck out on his own, establishing a new candy company called Haribo—an abbreviation derived from his name and hometown of Bonn (Hans Riegel Bonn). — Michele Herrmann, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 May 2022 The first name of someone whose last name is the same as the last name of someone whose first name is the abbreviation of a kind of juice. — Erik Kain, Forbes, 5 May 2022 In May and June, Lynn punctuated several tweets with the same abbreviation. — NBC News, 22 Sep. 2020 In a twist too implausible for fiction, the abbreviation is DGB, one letter off from KGB. — Roger Koppl And Abigail Devereaux, WSJ, 1 May 2022 Paddy's' or 'Patty's': What is the correct abbreviation? — Laura L. Davis, USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2022 In May and June, Lynn punctuated several tweets with the same abbreviation. — NBC News, 22 Sep. 2020 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'abbreviation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.