abbreviate Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb reduce in scope while retaining essential elements
    reduce; cut; abridge; shorten; contract; foreshorten.
    • The manuscript must be shortened
  2. verb shorten
    • Abbreviate `New York' and write `NY'

WordNet

Ab*bre"vi*ate transitive verb
Etymology
L. abbreviatus, p.p. of abbreviare; ad + breviare to shorten, fr. brevis short. See Abridge.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Abbreviated present participle & verbal noun Abbreviating
Definitions
  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.
Ab*bre"vi*ate adjective
Etymology
L. abbreviatus, p.p.
Definitions
  1. Abbreviated; abridged; shortened. R. "The abbreviate form." Earle.
  2. (Biol.) Having one part relatively shorter than another or than the ordinary type.
Ab*bre"vi*ate noun
Definitions
  1. An abridgment. Obs. Elyot.

Webster 1913