as in to shorten
to make less in extent or duration
had to abbreviate his vacation in France in order to travel to Oslo to receive the Nobel Prize
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Recent Examples of abbreviate
For all the joy of the touring Elvis' performances, this final phase of Presley's monumental but abbreviated career provides a dark finish to his American journey.
—
John Beifuss, USA Today, 10 Nov. 2025
That motion, even if abbreviated, is an indicator that an O-lineman is getting his body ready to absorb the blow of a pass rusher on a potential throw.
—Jesse Newell, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
Early setbacks and hurdles Group Violence Intervention, often abbreviated as GVI, is a crime-reduction strategy developed in the 1990s by criminologist David Kennedy.
—Monroe Trombly, Louisville Courier Journal, 30 Sep. 2025
That’s a tactic city financers used on several other bond projects as well, said Molly Scarbrough, a deputy program manager for the Denver GO Bond Program, which abbreviates general obligation bond.
—Elliott Wenzler, Denver Post, 28 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abbreviate
John Beifuss, USA Today, 10 Nov. 2025
That motion, even if abbreviated, is an indicator that an O-lineman is getting his body ready to absorb the blow of a pass rusher on a potential throw.
—Jesse Newell, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
Early setbacks and hurdles Group Violence Intervention, often abbreviated as GVI, is a crime-reduction strategy developed in the 1990s by criminologist David Kennedy.
—Monroe Trombly, Louisville Courier Journal, 30 Sep. 2025
That’s a tactic city financers used on several other bond projects as well, said Molly Scarbrough, a deputy program manager for the Denver GO Bond Program, which abbreviates general obligation bond.
—Elliott Wenzler, Denver Post, 28 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abbreviate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abbreviate
shorten
Verb
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That timeline by the end of the year would have coincided with an orbital alignment around the sun that would shorten the journey between Earth and Mars.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Decision-making cycles are shortening.—
Christopher Vollmer,
Fortune,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abbreviate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abbreviate. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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