The standard August abbreviation is Aug., a capital A followed by u, g and a closing dot. You will find it on calendars, checks, invoices, school planners and anywhere a date has to fit in a small box: Aug. 1, Aug. 15, Aug. 31.
In all capital systems such as airline tickets, military date lines, spreadsheets and some software menus, the month becomes AUG with no period. Numerically, August is month 8, so August 14 can be written 8/14 in the usual American order.
Quick facts
Standard form
Aug. (capital A, period)Code form
AUG, all capitals, no periodMonth number
8, written 08 in many formsDays
31News style
Aug. with a specific date, August alone otherwiseNamed for
Augustus, the first Roman emperor
Every August abbreviation, from Aug. to 8
| Form | Where it fits | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Aug. | Letters, calendars, news dates | Aug. 9 |
| Aug | UK writing, app labels, chart axes | 9 Aug |
| AUG | Tickets, data fields, military dates | 09AUG |
| 8 or 08 | Forms and numeric dates | 08/09 |
| A | One letter calendar headers | J J A S |
The one letter version only works in a row of months, where the order makes it clear. On its own, A could mean April just as easily.
Period or no period?
In American writing, add the period: Aug. The dot tells the reader the word has been cut short. British writing and many digital interfaces leave the dot off and write plain Aug instead. Both are understood; just stay consistent inside a single document.
The all caps code AUG never gets a period. That form is meant for machines, timetables and tight columns, where punctuation just adds clutter. A booking line might read "DEP 14AUG," meaning departure on August 14.
What news style says about August
American news writers follow a simple rule. Shorten a long month name, August included, only when a day number follows it.
- "The fair opens Aug. 12." (specific date, so abbreviate)
- "The fair opens in August." (no date, so spell it out)
- "August 1999 was hot." (month and year only, so spell it out)
Shorter months such as June and July stay whole even with a date, while September follows the same pattern as August. The month abbreviations guide lists all twelve.
Writing August dates on forms and checks
On a permission slip: "Field trip: Aug. 28. Return form by Aug. 21." Both dates use the short form because the space beside each line is narrow.
On a check, many people write the date as 8/21 or 08/21 to save space. On official forms that show MM/DD/YYYY, August is always 08. Writing just 8 in a box that wants two digits can cause a scanner or clerk to reject the form.
Airline itinerary: "FLT 214 17AUG." The code AUG with the day in front is standard on tickets and boarding passes.
Why the month is called August
The name comes from Augustus, the first emperor of Rome. The Roman Senate renamed the month in his honor; before that it was called Sextilis, from the Latin word for six, because the old Roman year started in March. The word august in lowercase, stressed on the second syllable, means grand or dignified, and it shares the same Latin root.
Mix ups to avoid
- Au is the chemical symbol for gold, not a month.
- Agst or Augt are not standard. Stick with Aug.
- In day first countries, 8/9 means 8 September, not August 9. When writing for international readers, use Aug. 9 to remove doubt.
For more everyday shortcuts like these, visit common abbreviations.
Questions people ask
How do you abbreviate August?
Write Aug. in American English: capital A, then ug, then a dot. Codes and data fields use AUG.
Is Aug. abbreviated in AP style?
Yes, when it appears with a specific date, as in Aug. 4. Without a day number, news style spells out August.
What number month is August?
August is the eighth month, so its number is 8. Forms that need two digits use 08.
How many days are in August?
August has 31 days. It follows July, which also has 31, so the two months back to back make up 62 days of summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
Should I write Aug or Aug.?
In American writing, use Aug. with a period. Aug without a dot is the British habit, and it also appears on app labels and chart axes.