The act of shortening, or reducing. [1913 Webster]
The result of abbreviating; an abridgment. Tylor. [1913 Webster]
The form to which a word or phrase is reduced by contraction and omission; a letter or letters, standing for a word or phrase of which they are a part; as, Gen. for Genesis; U.S.A. for United States of America. [1913 Webster]
One dash, or more, through the stem of a note, dividing it respectively into quavers, semiquavers, or demi-semiquavers. Moore. [1913 Webster]

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OXFORD DICTIONARY

abbreviation, n.
1 an abbreviated form, esp. a shortened form of a word or phrase.
2 the process of abbreviating.

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THESAURUS

abbreviation

abbreviature, abrege, abridgment, abstract, apocope, aposiopesis, astriction, astringency, blue-penciling, bottleneck, bowdlerization, brief, cancellation, capsule, censoring, censorship, cervix, circumscription, clipping, coarctation, compactedness, compaction, compend, compression, compressure, concentration, condensation, condensed version, consolidation, conspectus, constriction, constringency, contraction, contracture, crasis, curtailment, cutting, decrease, deletion, digest, diminuendo, draft, editing, elision, ellipsis, epitome, erasure, expurgation, foreshortening, head, hourglass, hourglass figure, isthmus, knitting, narrow place, narrowing, neck, omission, outline, overview, pandect, precis, pruning, puckering, pursing, recap, recapitulation, reduction, retrenchment, review, rubric, shortened version, shortening, skeleton, sketch, solidification, stranglement, strangulation, striction, stricture, striking, summary, summation, survey, syllabus, syncope, syneresis, synopsis, systole, telescoping, thumbnail sketch, topical outline, truncation, wasp waist, wrinkling

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ROGET THESAURUS

abbreviation

Compendium

N compend, compendium, abstract, precis, epitome, multum in parvo, analysis, pandect, digest, sum and substance, brief, abridgment, summary, apercu, draft, minute, note, excerpt, synopsis, textbook, conspectus, outlines, syllabus, contents, heads, prospectus, album, scrap book, note book, memorandum book, commonplace book, extracts, excerpta, cuttings, fugitive pieces, fugitive writing, spicilegium, flowers, anthology, collectanea, analecta, compilation, recapitulation, resume, review, abbreviation, abbreviature, contraction, shortening, compression, compendious, synoptic, analectic, abrege, abridged, variorum, in short, in epitome, in substance, in few words, it lies in a nutshell.

Shortness

N shortness, brevity, littleness, a span, shortening, abbreviation, abbreviature, abridgment, concision, retrenchment, curtailment, decurtation, reduction, epitome, elision, ellipsis, conciseness, abridger, epitomist, epitomizer, short, brief, curt, compendious, compact, stubby, scrimp, shorn, stubbed, stumpy, thickset, pug, chunky, decurtate, retrousse, stocky, squab, squabby, squat, dumpy, little, curtailed of its fair proportions, short by, oblate, concise, summary, shortly, in short.

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