Abbreviations Wikipedia:Manual of Style

1 abbreviations

1.1 write out both full version , abbreviation @ first occurrence
1.2 plural , possessive forms
1.3 full stops , spaces
1.4 , u.s.
1.5 circa
1.6 not use unwarranted abbreviations
1.7 not invent abbreviations or acronyms
1.8 html elements
1.9 ampersand

abbreviations

abbreviations shortened forms of words or phrases. in strict analysis, distinct contractions, use apostrophe (e.g., won t, see § contractions) , initialisms (including acronyms). initialism formed or of initial letters of words in phrase. in linguistic works, acronym considered initialism pronounced word (e.g., nato), distinct case initialism said string of individual letters (e.g., us). herein, general statements regarding abbreviations inclusive of acronyms, , term acronym applies collectively initialisms, without distinction acronym said word.

write out both full version , abbreviation @ first occurrence

when abbreviation used in article, give expression in full @ first, followed abbreviation in parentheses (round brackets). thereafter abbreviation can used alone:

if full version in parentheses, use comma , or indicate abbreviation.

make exception common abbreviations; in articles require no expansion (phd, dna, ussr).
do not apply initial capitals in full version because capitals used in abbreviation.



plural , possessive forms

like other nouns, acronyms pluralized via addition of -s or -es: produced 3 cd-roms;  three different bioses released. always, not use apostrophe form plural: 1 dvd s menu wrong, , 5 cd-roms titles misspelled, not bought 2 dvd s.

full stops , spaces

abbreviations may or may not closed full stop or point (period – .). consistent style should maintained within article. north american usage typically end abbreviations period (dr. smith of 42 drummond st.), in common british , australian usage, no stop used if abbreviation ends in last letter of unabbreviated form, except when confusion result (dr smith of 42 drummond st). common practice in scientific writing. regardless of punctuation, words abbreviated more 1 letter spaced (op. cit. not op.cit. or opcit). there exceptions: phd (see above) philosophiae doctor ; bvetmed bachelor of veterinary medicine .

us , u.s.

mos:us
mos:notusa

us commonly used abbreviation united states, although u.s. – periods , without space – remains common in north american publications, including in news journalism. multiple american style guides, including chicago manual of style (since 2010), deprecate u.s. , recommend .

for commonality reasons, use default when abbreviating, retain u.s. in american or canadian english articles in established, unless there reason change it. because use of periods abbreviations , acronyms should consistent within given article, use in article other country abbreviations, , avoid constructions u.s. , uk. in longer abbreviations incorporate country s initials (usn, usaf), never use periods. when united states mentioned 1 or more other countries in same sentence, (or u.s.) may informal, @ first mention or noun instead of adjective (france , united states, not france , us). not use spaced u. s. or archaic u.s. of a., except when quoting. not use u.s.a. or usa except in quotation, part of proper name (team usa), or in technical/formal uses (e.g., iso 3166-1 alpha-3, fifa, , ioc country codes).

circa

to indicate approximately, abbreviation c. (followed space , not italicized) preferred on circa, ca., or approx. template {{circa}} may used.

do not use unwarranted abbreviations

avoid abbreviations when might confuse reader, interrupt flow, or appear informal. example, not use approx. approximate or approximately, except in technical passage term occurs many times or in infobox or data table reduce width.

do not invent abbreviations or acronyms

generally avoid devising new abbreviations, acronyms (world union of billiards translation of union mondiale de billard, neither nor reduction wub used organization; use original name , official abbreviation, umb).

if necessary abbreviate in tight space, such column header in table, use recognized abbreviations. example, new zealand gross national product, use nz , gnp, link if term has not been written out in article: nz gnp. not make initialisms such nzgnp.

html elements

either <abbr> element or {{abbr}} template can used abbreviations , acronyms: <abbr title= world health organization >who</abbr> or {{abbr|who|world health organization}} generate who; hovering on rendered text causes tooltip of long form pop up. mediawiki, software on wikipedia runs, not support <acronym>.

ampersand



mos:amp
mos:&

in normal text , headings, use , instead of ampersand (&) in cases: january 1 and 2, not january 1 & 2. retain ampersand when legitimate part of proper noun, such in up & down or at&t. elsewhere, ampersands may used consistency , discretion space extremely limited (e.g. tables , infoboxes). quotations (see mos:quote) may cautiously modified, consistency different editions quoted, modern editions of old texts routinely replace ampersands , (just replace other disused glyphs, ligatures, , abbreviations).

cite error: there <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on page, references not show without {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see page).