What Are the Most Common Abbreviations?

Mrs., Dr., Ft. and St. 

There are just some abbreviations we’ve grown accustomed to, but there are others we may not know how to pronounce.

In this article

1. What Are Abbreviations? 
2. How Are Abbreviations Used? 
3. Common Abbreviations

That may be a tad awkward, if you’re a voice actor in the middle of reading a script for a client.

Abbreviations are a common shorthand used in many different areas of communication. 

Whether you’re texting with a friend, reading a scientific paper, or navigating a new industry, you’re likely to come across a variety of abbreviations that you may not be familiar with. 

In this post, we’ll look at what abbreviations are, how they’re used, and some common examples. 

What Are Abbreviations? 

An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. 

For example, ‘Mr.’ is an abbreviation of ‘Mister’, and ‘USA’ is an abbreviation of ‘United States of America.’ Abbreviations can be created in many different ways, such as by shortening a word, combining the first letters of a phrase, or using a combination of letters and numbers. 

How Are Abbreviations Used? 

Abbreviations are used in a wide variety of contexts to save time and space when communicating. They can be found in written and spoken language and other forms of communication such as text messages, emails, and social media posts. 

One of the most common places you’re likely to encounter abbreviations is in professional and technical fields, where they are used to refer to concepts, terms, and processes that may be complex or lengthy. 

Abbreviations are also commonly used in informal settings, such as texting and social media, where brevity is often valued over formal language. 

Common Abbreviations

Abbreviations appear in voice acting scripts and sometimes, it’s unclear what you should say when doing a voice-over.

Here are a few common abbreviations you might come across as a voice actor.

The most common abbreviations, their expansion and how to pronounce them are as follows: