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a shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase, used to represent the whole, as Dr. for Doctor, U.S. for United States, lb. for pound.
an act of abbreviating; state or result of being abbreviated; reduction in length, duration, etc.; abridgment; summary:
His abbreviation of his famous monograph, an enormous endeavor in itself, made an excellent introduction to the volume of collected essays of which he was the editor.
a short phrase or reduced form used to represent a larger, more complex idea, situation, set of beliefs, etc.: “Freedom of speech” has become an abbreviation for a wealth of debate—and case law—about protesters’ rights.
The artist presented an abbreviation of line, plane, and curve; she creates breathtaking abstract representations of bodies you expect to leap off the canvas and start dancing.
Contemporary Examples

The desert creeps at the rate of fingernails; the abbreviation for street is the same as that for saint.
Catastrophe in Verse Eliza Griswold April 20, 2011

GTL (Jerseyan, n.)—the abbreviation for the guido way of life, which stands for gym, tanning, laundry.
‘Jersey Shore’ Guide to Italian Jaimie Etkin August 3, 2011

I told him the abbreviation and he typed it into the computer, his face lighting up with epiphany before sending me on my way.
Coping With My Iraq Nightmares Christopher Brownfield December 25, 2008

Historical Examples

The name dynamo is an abbreviation for dynamo-electric machine.
Electricity and Magnetism Elisha Gray

(an abbreviation of Pluteus, press), with the number and shelf.
Notes and Queries, Number 68, February 15, 1851 Various

Said to be simply a shortening or abbreviation of Sevenoaks, the Kentish village.
The Slang Dictionary John Camden Hotten

This abbreviation is not used by those who are careful in the choice of words.
The Verbalist Thomas Embly Osmun, (AKA Alfred Ayres)

Drill on the number of chapters in each book and on the abbreviation of each.
The Bible Book by Book Josiah Blake Tidwell

Surnames of authors when ascertained, the abbreviation “Anon.”
A Book for All Readers Ainsworth Rand Spofford

Bartram states that bull is an abbreviation of bullet; the grapes being so called because they were of the size of a bullet.
The Grapes of New York U. P. Hedrick

noun
a shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase used in place of the whole
the process or result of abbreviating
n.

mid-15c., from Middle French abréviation (15c.), from Late Latin abbreviationem (nominative abbreviatio), noun of action from past participle stem of abbreviare “make brief,” from Latin ad “to” (see ad-) + breviare “shorten,” from brevis “short, low, little, shallow” (see brief (adj.)).

A shortened form of an expression, usually followed by a period. Dr. is a standard abbreviation for Doctor; MA is a standard abbreviation for Massachusetts.