abbreviation

/əˌbɹiː.viˈeɪ.ʃən/

//əˌbɹiː.viˈeɪ.ʃən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"abbreviation" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“abbreviation” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #24,070. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,070
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
16
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The result of shortening or reducing; abridgment.

Corpus desk

Index EN-abbreviation · abbreviation · English

abbreviation · rank #24,070 · 16 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #24,070
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH ABD

Nearest frequency peer: ABD (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “abbreviation”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “abbreviation” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for abbreviation
PropertyValue
Headwordabbreviation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˌbɹiː.viˈeɪ.ʃən/
Letters12
Frequency rank#24,070
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “abbreviation”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).abbreviationlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “ABD” (#24,071), “Zimmer” (#24,068), “abuser” (#24,072). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “abbreviation” is #24,070. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around abbreviation (IPA /əˌbɹiː.viˈeɪ.ʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #24,070 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for abbreviation, with forms such as "abberviation", "abbreivation", and "abbrevaition". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested 1400–50. From Middle English abbreviacioun, from Middle French abreviation, from Ecclesiastical Latin abbreviātiō, from Latin ab + breviō (“shorten”), from brevis (“short”). By surface analysis, abbreviate + -ion. The correct English form is abbreviation, spelled A-B-B-R-E-V-I-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The result of shortening or reducing; abridgment.
  2. 2
    A shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase used to represent the whole, using omission of letters, and sometimes substitution of letters, or duplication of initial letters to signify plurality, including signs such as +, =, @.
  3. 3
    The process of abbreviating.
  4. 4
    A notation used in music score to denote a direction, as pp or mf.
  5. 5
    One or more dashes through the stem of a note, dividing it respectively into quavers, semiquavers, demisemiquavers, or hemidemisemiquavers.
  6. 6
    Any convenient short form used as a substitution for an understood or inferred whole.
  7. 7
    Loss during evolution of the final stages of the ancestral ontogenetic pattern.
  8. 8
    Reduction to lower terms, as a fraction.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Hants is an abbreviation of Hampshire.
  2. Americans, for example, call newcomers to Antarctica “fingies”, which comes from FNGs – a borrowed military abbreviation that means “Fucking New Guy”.

Etymology

First attested 1400–50. From Middle English abbreviacioun, from Middle French abreviation, from Ecclesiastical Latin abbreviātiō, from Latin ab + breviō (“shorten”), from brevis (“short”). By surface analysis, abbreviate + -ion.

Synonyms

abbreviatureabridgementabstractcompendcompressioncondensationcontractioncurtailmentepitomereductionshortcutsummary

Antonyms

amplificationdilationenlargementexpansionexpatiationextensionproduction

This word in other languages

abreviación(Español)abréviation(Français)Abkürzung(Deutsch)abreviatura(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • abberviation
  • abbreivation
  • abbrevaition
  • abbreviaiton
  • abbreviasion
  • abbreviatino
  • abbreviationn
  • abbreviatoin
  • abbreviattion
  • abbrevitaion
  • abbrevviation
  • abbrreviation
  • abbrveiation
  • abrbeviation
  • abreviation
  • babreviation

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of abbreviation - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

abberviation2abbreivation2abbrevaition2abbreviaiton2abbreviasion1abbreviatino2abbreviationn1abbreviatoin2
Edit distance from "abbreviation"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "abbreviation"?
"abbreviation" is spelled A-B-B-R-E-V-I-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /əˌbɹiː.viˈeɪ.ʃən/.
What does "abbreviation" mean?
As a noun, "abbreviation" means: The result of shortening or reducing; abridgment.
What are common misspellings of "abbreviation"?
Common misspellings include "abberviation", "abbreivation", "abbrevaition", "abbreviaiton", "abbreviasion". The correct spelling is "abbreviation".
How do you pronounce "abbreviation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "abbreviation" is /əˌbɹiː.viˈeɪ.ʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "abbreviation"?
First attested 1400–50. From Middle English abbreviacioun, from Middle French abreviation, from Ecclesiastical Latin abbreviātiō, from Latin ab + breviō (“shorten”), from brevis (“short”). By surface analysis, abbreviate + -ion. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "abbreviation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

unimaginable#24,045bodybuilding#24,097conductivity#24,121snowboarding#24,002

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

temperance16 variantsdispleasure16 variantsprovenance16 variantsimperialist16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list