definition of the word abbreviate

From Latin abbreviatus, past participle of abbreviare, formed from ad- + breviare "to shorten", from brevis short.

• (RP) IPA: /əˈbriːvieɪt/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

to abbreviate (third-person singular simple present abbreviates, present participle abbreviating, simple past and past participle abbreviated)

1. (transitive) To make shorter; to shorten; to abridge; to reduce by means of contraction or omission, especially of words written or spoken.
   • It is one thing to abbreviate by contracting, another by cutting off. — Bacon
2. (mathematics) To reduce to lower terms, as a fraction.

• abbreviation
• abbreviator

Definition from Wiktionary Content avaible with GNU Free Documentation License

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