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ABC

/eɪ biː ˈsiː/noun, adjective, phrase

ABC is spelled A-B-C: 3 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,752nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ABC means “The English alphabet” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ABC is ABCs or ABC's.

How many letters and syllables are in ABC?

Letters3: A-B-C
Syllables3 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing17 times per million words; the 4,752nd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is ABC?

ABC appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,752nd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce ABC?

  • /eɪ biː ˈsiː/

ABC has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-ABC.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of ABC

  • ABCs plural
  • ABC's plural
  • absey
  • ABCD
  • ABCDE

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does ABC mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    USThe English alphabet.

    Do you know your ABC? (US: Do you know your ABCs?)

  2. 2

    obsoleteA type of poem in which the lines start with the letters of the alphabet in order.

  3. 3

    obsoleteA primer for teaching the Latin alphabet and first elements of reading.

  4. 4

    The fundamentals of any subject.

    the ABC of finance

  5. 5

    A straightforward, uniform playing style, often focusing on betting for value, folding weak hands, and avoiding bluffing.

  6. 6

    UKA British alphabetized guidebook listing trains and their stations.

  7. 7

    USEllipsis of ABC store.

  8. 8

    A keyboard layout in which all keys are arranged in alphabetical order in English.

  9. 9

    Initialism of airway, breathing and circulation, the essential steps in the immediate assessment and treatment of critically ill or injured patients.

  10. 10

    USInitialism of alcoholic beverage control.

  11. 11

    derogatoryInitialism of American-born Chinese.

  12. 12

    Initialism of Australian-born Chinese.

  13. 13

    Initialism of activity-based costing.

  14. 14

    Initialism of advance base camp.

  15. 15

    Initialism of ATP-binding cassette.

    ABC transporter

  16. 16

    Initialism of antigen-binding capacity.

adjective

  1. 1

    Initialism of atomic, biological and chemical, the three main categories of weapon of mass destruction.

  2. 2

    slangInitialism of already been chewed.

  3. 3

    Initialism of activated B-cell-like.

phrase

  1. 1

    Initialism of anything but Chardonnay, a backlash against Chardonnay wine, seen as ubiquitous.

  2. 2

    Initialism of abstinence, be faithful, use a condom, a sex education policy developed in response to the epidemic of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

  3. 3

    Initialism of always be charging, a recommendation to remember to charge or be left without use by a low battery at an inopportune time.

  4. 4

    Initialism of anything but Conservative.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

ABC in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
GermanAbc-Buch, Abecebuch, Abecedarium, Abcdarium, Buchstabierbuch, Lese-Lern-Buch (primer for learning the alphabet)
Frenchb.a.-ba (rudiments)
Portugueseabc, abecê, á-bê-cê (rudiments)
Spanishabc, abecé (rudiments)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does ABC come from?

From Middle English abece, ABC, from the first three letters of the Latin alphabet, standing for the whole alphabet.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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