abbreviation

(noun)

A shortened form of a word or phrase, used to represent the whole. 

Related Terms

  • acronym

Examples of abbreviation in the following topics:

  • Abbreviations and Acronyms

    • An abbreviation is the shortened form of a word or phrase.
    • An abbreviation is the shortened form of a word or phrase.
    • When a sentence ends with an abbreviation, use only one period for both the abbreviation and the sentence.
    • (New York is abbreviated as "N.Y."
    • (Miles per hour is abbreviated "mph."
  • Ending Punctuation

    • Periods are also used in abbreviations.
    • For example, "doctor" is abbreviated "Dr." and "junior" is abbreviated "Jr."
    • Remember that if an abbreviation that uses a period comes at the end of a sentence you do not add a period—the period with the abbreviation serves as the ending punctuation as well.
  • APA: Title Page and Running Head

    • ., at the very top) of your title page, you should have the text “Running head:” followed by an abbreviated title of your paper in all caps.
    • The abbreviated title, still in all caps, should then appear at the same place—left-justified in the header—on every following page of your paper, but without the text “Running head:” preceding it (that should appear only on the title page).
  • APA: Abstract

    • (Also recall that, starting on this page, the running head should be only your abbreviated title in all caps, without the words “Running head:" at the beginning.)
  • APA: Tables and Figures

    • If your table includes any abbreviations that need defining, or statistics whose significance levels need noting, immediately below the table, write the word "Note" in italics, followed by a colon, and then provide the needed explanation.
    • If your figure includes any abbreviations that need defining, or statistics whose significance levels need noting, include this information in the figure caption.
  • When to Use Chicago/Turabian Style

    • The Chicago Manual of Style (abbreviated in writing as Chicago style, CMS, or CMOS) is a style guide for American English published since 1906 by the University of Chicago Press.
  • MLA: Tables and Figures

    • Treat a figure much as you would treat a table, with two exceptions: (1) you may center it horizontally if you choose, and (2) all information about the figure, including its number ("Figure 1"; you may abbreviate to "Fig. 1" if you choose) and title ("Frogs in the Willamette River, 2012") should appear on the line immediately below the figure.
  • Apostrophes

    • Apostrophes are sometimes used to form plurals for abbreviations, acronyms, and symbols where adding just s as opposed to 's may leave things ambiguous or inelegant.
  • Chicago/Turabian (NB): The Bibliography Section

    • If an issue number is provided in addition to the volume number, as it is here, add a comma after the volume number, the abbreviation "no
  • Chicago/Turabian (Author–Date): The References Section

    • If an issue number is provided in addition to the volume number, as it is here, add a comma after the volume number, the abbreviation "no
Subjects
  • Accounting
  • Algebra
  • Art History
  • Biology
  • Business
  • Calculus
  • Chemistry
  • Communications
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Microbiology
  • Physics
  • Physiology
  • Political Science
  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Statistics
  • U.S. History
  • World History
  • Writing

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