abbreviate
/əˈbɹi.vi.eɪt/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.23 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To make shorter; to shorten (in time); to abridge; to shorten by ending sooner than planned.
Transitive verb
verb
To reduce a word or phrase by means of contraction or omission to a shorter recognizable form.
Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "But it is one Thing, to Abbreuiate by Contracting, Another by Cutting off: […]"
- "But as delivery schedules have dwindled into hours, even the gigantic warehouse full of stuff in a central place such as the triangle is proving insufficient. Now, companies also need smaller distribution centres around the country, to respond rapidly to orders and to abbreviate the last mile as much as possible."
- "Bovine spongiform encephalopathy is more commonly known by its abbreviated form BSE."
- "Alana abbreviated "involuntarily celibate" to "invcel", until someone suggested that "incel" was easier to say."
- "The curt form of gent as a less ceremonious substitute for the full expression of ‘gentleman,’ had once made considerable way, but its career was blighted in a court of justice. It is about twenty years ago that two young men, being brought before a London magistrate, described themselves as ‘gents.’ The magistrate said that he considered that a designation little better than ‘blackguard.’ The abbreviate form has never been able to recover that shock."
Etymology
From Middle English abbreviaten, from abbreviat(e) (“abbreviated”, used as the participle of abbreviaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), borrowed from Latin abbreviātus, perfect passive participle of abbreviō (“to shorten”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), formed from ab- + breviō (“to shorten”), from brevis (“short”). Alternatively, a back-formation from abbreviation. Doublet of abridge.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: abbreviaten, abbreviātus, abbreviat
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /əˈbɹi.vi.eɪt/
- British English: /əˈbɹiː.vi.eɪt/
Usage
Inflected Forms
abbreviates (present, singular)
abbreviating (participle, present)
abbreviated (participle, past)
abbreviated (past)
more abbreviate (comparative)
most abbreviate (superlative)
abbreviates (plural)