abbreviation

/əˌbriːviˈeɪʃn/ (bre, ipa) · /əˌbriːviˈeɪʃn/ (ame, ipa) · /ə-ˌbrē-vē-ˈā-shən/ (ame, mw)

abbreviation — noun

1. a letter or group of letters that stands in for a longer word or phrase, so peop

1.名詞B1
釋義

a letter or group of letters that stands in for a longer word or phrase, so people can write or say it more quickly.

例句

'Dr.' is the common abbreviation of 'Doctor' in English.

abbreviation of + full word

Renata kept asking what the abbreviation 'TBA' on the timetable meant.

naming a specific abbreviation in quotes

同義詞
  • acronym

    specifically an abbreviation pronounced as a word, like NASA

  • initialism

    an abbreviation said letter by letter, like FBI

  • short form

    everyday wording for the same idea

  • contraction

    a shortened form using an apostrophe, like 'don't' for 'do not'

反義詞
  • full form

    the complete unshortened word or phrase

文法句型

abbreviation of/for + noun

用法筆記

Often followed by 'of' (when naming the long form: 'abbreviation of Doctor') or 'for' (when naming what it stands for: 'abbreviation for blood pressure'). The countable sense is far more common than sense 2.

常見錯誤

❌NASA is an abbreviation about a space agency.
✅NASA is an abbreviation for a space agency.
💡use 'for' or 'of', not 'about'.

2. the action of making a word, title, or text shorter by leaving out letters, syll

2.名詞C1
釋義

the action of making a word, title, or text shorter by leaving out letters, syllables, or whole sections.

例句

Through abbreviation, 'television' was reduced to 'TV' in everyday speech.

uncountable: 'through abbreviation'

The editor allowed some abbreviation of long quotations to fit the page limit.

abbreviation of + noun phrase

同義詞
  • shortening

    plain, everyday wording for the same process

  • abridgment

    formal; usually for shortening books, speeches, or documents

  • truncation

    technical; cutting off the end of something, often in computing

反義詞
  • expansion

    writing out the full form of a shortened word

文法句型

abbreviation of + noun phrase

用法筆記

Uncountable in this sense — never use 'an abbreviation' or plural 'abbreviations' here. Distinguish from sense 1 (countable, the resulting short form): sense 2 names the process; sense 1 names the product of that process.

常見錯誤

❌The journal allows abbreviations of long titles.' (when meaning the act)
✅The journal allows abbreviation of long titles.
💡drop the 's' for the process meaning.