abbreviate

[əˈbɹiːvieɪt]

/[əˈbɹiːvieɪt]/ verb

The verdict

“abbreviate” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - abkürzen, abbreviieren

Corpus desk

Index DE-abbreviate · abbreviate · German

abbreviate · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for abbreviate
PropertyValue
Headwordabbreviate
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[əˈbɹiːvieɪt]
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „abbreviate“ im Deutschen

abbreviatesitzt jenseits der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Formen, im Schwanz spezialisierten oder seltenen Wortschatzes.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

abbreviate is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed [əˈbɹiːvieɪt]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for abbreviate, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is abbreviate, spelled A-B-B-R-E-V-I-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    abkürzen, abbreviieren
  2. 2
    das (zeitliche) Ausmaß verringern; kürzen, verkürzen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how abbreviate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. "European Union" is usually abbreviated to "EU".
  2. I must abbreviate my speech because it is too long.

Antonyms

elongate

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "abbreviate"?
"abbreviate" is spelled A-B-B-R-E-V-I-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is [əˈbɹiːvieɪt].
What does "abbreviate" mean?
As a verb, "abbreviate" means: abkürzen, abbreviieren
How do you pronounce "abbreviate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "abbreviate" is [əˈbɹiːvieɪt]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "abbreviate" come from?
"abbreviate" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list