# abbreviate

> English word · Verb · IPA /əˈbɹiː.vi.eɪt/ · frequency rank #72,057

## Definitions
1. To shorten by omitting parts or details.
2. To speak or write in a brief manner.
3. To make shorter; to shorten (in time); to abridge; to shorten by ending sooner than planned.
4. To reduce a word or phrase by means of contraction or omission to a shorter recognizable form.
5. To reduce to lower terms, as a fraction.

## 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.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/abbreviate