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abbreviate - 5 dictionary results

ab⋅bre⋅vi⋅ate

  [uh-bree-vee-eyt] verb, -at⋅ed, -at⋅ing.
Use abbreviate in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. 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, R.I. for Rhode Island, NW for Northwest, or Xn for Christian.
2. to reduce (anything) in length, duration, etc.; make briefer: to abbreviate a speech.
–verb (used without object)
3. to use abbreviations.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME abbreviaten < LL abbreviātus shortened (ptp. of abbreviāre), equiv. to L ad- ad- + breviātus (brevi(s) short + -ātus -ate 1 )

Related forms:
ab⋅bre⋅vi⋅a⋅tor, noun

Synonyms:
See shorten.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To abbreviate
ab·bre·vi·ate   (ə-brē'vē-āt')   
tr.v.   ab·bre·vi·at·ed, ab·bre·vi·at·ing, ab·bre·vi·ates
  1. To make shorter. See Synonyms at shorten.
  2. To reduce (a word or phrase) to a shorter form intended to represent the full form.

[Middle English abbreviaten, from Late Latin abbreviāre, abbreviāt- : ad-, ad- + breviāre, to shorten (from brevis, short; see mregh-u- in Indo-European roots).]
ab·bre'vi·a'tor n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Abbreviate

Ab*bre"vi*ate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abbreviated; p. pr. & vb. n. Abbreviating.] [L. abbreviatus, p. p. of abbreviare; ad + breviare to shorten, fr. brevis short. See Abridge.]

1. To make briefer; to shorten; to abridge; to reduce by contraction or omission, especially of words written or spoken.

It is one thing to abbreviate by contracting, another by cutting off. --Bacon.

2. (Math.) To reduce to lower terms, as a fraction.

Abbreviate

Ab*bre"vi*ate\, a. [L. abbreviatus, p. p.]

1. Abbreviated; abridged; shortened. [R.] "The abbreviate form." --Earle.

2. (Biol.) Having one part relatively shorter than another or than the ordinary type.

Abbreviate

Ab*bre"vi*ate\, n. An abridgment. [Obs.] --Elyot.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : abbreviate
Spanish: abreviar,
German: abkürzen,
Japanese: 短縮する
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