ABBREVIATE

Pronunciation (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does abbreviate mean? 

• ABBREVIATE (verb)
  The verb ABBREVIATE has 2 senses:

1. shorten
2. reduce in scope while retaining essential elements

  Familiarity information: ABBREVIATE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ABBREVIATE (verb)

Meaning:

Shorten

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

Abbreviate 'New York' and write 'NY'

Hypernyms (to "abbreviate" is one way to...):

reduce (make less complex)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Meaning:

Reduce in scope while retaining essential elements

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

abridge; foreshorten; abbreviate; shorten; contract; reduce; cut

Context example:

The manuscript must be shortened

Hypernyms (to "abbreviate" is one way to...):

decrease; lessen; minify (make smaller)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "abbreviate"):

bowdlerise; bowdlerize; castrate; expurgate; shorten (edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate)

concentrate; condense; digest (make more concise)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something