An abbreviation is a word or phrase written out in a brief way using only the letters of the alphabet and possibly full stops. In modern British English, abbreviations are written without full stops. Full stops (periods) are common in American English.

Examples are given below:

Dr for Doctor (US Dr.)

Prof for Professor (US Prof.)

Capt for Captain (US Capt.)

Ltd for Limited (US Ltd.)

Many abbreviations are formed from Latin equivalents for English words and phrases. For example lb. is the Latin equivalent for pounds. Similarly, e.g. is the Latin equivalent for for example.

Most abbreviations do not have a distinct pronunciation of their own. We pronounce Capt as ‘Captain’ and i.e. as ‘in other words’.

How are abbreviations formed?

Some abbreviations are formed from the first letters of several words.

The BBC = The British Broadcasting Corporation

The UNO = The United Nations Organization

UNESCO = United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization

While some initial-letter abbreviations like the BBC are pronounced letter by letter, others like UNESCO are pronounced like words.

Note that abbreviations that are pronounced like words are often called acronyms. Examples are: LASER, RADAR, SCUBA and UNESCO. Articles are not usually used with acronyms. We say UNESCO, not the UNESCO.

The plurals of abbreviations are formed by adding an –s. Some people also put an apostrophe (’) before the –s.

CD – CDs or CD’s

MP – MPs or MP’s