This abbreviation list covers the short forms of ordinary English words, the ones you meet on recipe cards, calendars, envelopes, invoices and school handouts. Think tbsp for tablespoon, Apt. for apartment, Sept. for September and approx. for approximately. Unlike acronyms, most of these are read aloud as the full word.
The groups below sort the most common abbreviations in English by where you see them. Each linked word has its own page with plural forms, capital letters and the period question answered. Rules shift a little by setting, so the last sections explain how to choose the right form for a form, a text or a school paper.
Quick facts
What it covers
Shortened single words and short phrasesSaid as
Usually the full word (Dr. is read doctor)Periods
Common in American style (Mon., Blvd.); dropped in units (oz, lb)Biggest groups
Measurements, dates, addresses, office termsLatin short forms
e.g., i.e., etc., ca.See also
Kitchen and measurement abbreviations
Recipes and package labels use the tightest short forms of all. Units of measure usually drop the period in modern American use, and they stay the same when the amount is more than one: 2 tbsp, 3 lb.
| Word | Abbreviation | Seen on |
|---|---|---|
| tablespoon | tbsp, T | Recipes |
| teaspoon | tsp, t | Recipes |
| cup | c | Recipes |
| ounce | oz | Food labels, postage |
| pounds | lb, lbs | Scales, shipping |
| gallon | gal | Milk jugs, gas |
| pint | pt | Recipes, ice cream |
| liter | L | Bottles |
| gram | g | Nutrition labels |
| inches | in. | Rulers, furniture |
| feet | ft | Room plans |
| square feet | sq ft | Home listings |
| miles | mi | Road signs, maps |
On a soup recipe card: "3 T oil, 2 t cumin, 4 c broth." The capital T is a tablespoon and the small t is a teaspoon. Mixing them up triples the cumin, which is why many cooks write tbsp and tsp instead.
Months, days and time zones
Calendars, schedules and event flyers shorten dates to save space. Most month and day forms end with a period in running text.
- Months: Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., Aug. and Sept. are the usual forms. May, June and July are short enough that most styles leave them alone. The month abbreviations page lists all twelve, including three-letter versions like SEP.
- Days: Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs., Fri., Sat. and Sun. Charts often cut them to three letters or even two.
- Time zones: ET, CT, MT and PT. Adding S or D (EST, EDT) tells you whether standard or daylight time is meant.
- Time of day: a.m. and p.m. come from Latin and are usually written in lowercase with periods.
Address abbreviations
Street addresses have their own set of short forms. The Postal Service prefers capitals with no periods on envelopes, while regular writing uses a capital and a period.
| Word | In writing | On an envelope |
|---|---|---|
| apartment | Apt. | APT |
| suite | Ste. | STE |
| building | Bldg. | BLDG |
| boulevard | Blvd. | BLVD |
| parkway | Pkwy. | PKWY |
| highway | Hwy. | HWY |
| circle | Cir. | CIR |
| center | Ctr. | CTR |
| attention | Attn. | ATTN |
States have codes of their own. For CA, NY and the other 48, see the state abbreviations guide.
Office and business abbreviations
Work email, job titles and invoices are full of shortened words. These are some of the most searched:
- Mgmt. for management and Mgr. for manager
- Asst. for assistant and Assoc. for associate
- Dept. for department and Dir. for director
- Acct. for account and Qty. for quantity
- Ea. for each, as in "Folders, 12 ea." on a supply order
- Addl. for additional and Approx. for approximately
- Misc. for miscellaneous and Est. for established
- Intl. for international and Cont. for continued
Letters made from several words, like HR or PTO, are acronyms and initialisms rather than word abbreviations. Those live in the business acronyms section. If you are after common acronyms in English, the everyday kind such as ATM, DIY and VIP, the famous acronyms guide groups them by setting.
Latin abbreviations and titles
A handful of Latin short forms appear in essays, footnotes and textbooks. They are worth learning because two of them are mixed up constantly.
- e.g. means "for example" (exempli gratia). Use it before a sample from a longer list.
- i.e. means "that is" (id est). Use it to restate or narrow what you just said.
- etc. means "and so on" (et cetera).
- ca. or c. means "about," used with dates: c. 1850.
Titles are shortened before names: Dr., Prof., Sr., Mrs. and Atty.. In American English these take a period; British writing often leaves it off.
Grammar abbreviations for students
Dictionaries, vocabulary lists and English workbooks use a small set of grammar labels. A list of abbreviations for students usually starts here:
| Short form | Meaning |
|---|---|
| n. | Noun |
| v. | Verb |
| adj. | Adjective |
| adv. | Adverb |
| prep. | Preposition |
| pl. | Plural |
| sing. | Singular |
| syn. | Synonym |
| ant. | Antonym |
Teachers also write marks like sp. (spelling) or frag. (sentence fragment) in the margins of papers. If a mark is unclear, ask, since these vary from class to class. School tests and programs have their own letters too, gathered in school acronyms.
How to use this abbreviation list well
- Match the setting. Recipes, forms and charts welcome short forms. Essays and formal letters usually want the full word.
- Pick one form and keep it. If you write Sept. on the first page, do not switch to Sep. on the second.
- Know the period rule. American style adds a period to most word abbreviations (Blvd., Dept.) but not to units (oz, ft) or postal codes.
- Do not double the period. If a sentence ends with etc., that one period does both jobs.
- When in doubt, spell it out. A full word is never wrong.
For the difference between these short forms and acronyms, see acronym vs abbreviation.
Questions people ask
How do you abbreviate each?
The usual abbreviation for each is ea., seen on price lists and supply orders. It is read as "each," and it takes a period in most styles.
What are some abbreviation examples for kids?
Easy ones are Mon. for Monday, Dr. for doctor, ft for feet and Ave. for avenue. Each is read as the full word even though only a few letters are written.
Should I put a period after an abbreviation?
Usually yes for shortened words in American writing: Jan., Apt., misc. Units of measure such as oz and lb usually do not, and neither do postal codes like APT on an envelope.
How do you make an abbreviation plural?
Most add a lowercase s before the period, as in apts. or depts. Units stay the same, so 5 lb and 3 oz are correct, though lbs is common in everyday use.
Are abbreviations and acronyms the same thing?
Acronyms are one kind of abbreviation. A word abbreviation like tbsp shortens one word, while an acronym like NASA comes from the opening letters of several words.