<abbr>: The Abbreviation element
The <abbr>
HTML element represents an abbreviation or acronym; the optional title
attribute can provide an expansion or description for the abbreviation. If present, title
must contain this full description and nothing else.
Content categories | Flow content, phrasing content, palpable content |
---|---|
Permitted content | Phrasing content |
Tag omission | None, both the starting and ending tag are mandatory. |
Permitted parents | Any element that accepts phrasing content |
Implicit ARIA role | No corresponding role |
Permitted ARIA roles | Any |
DOM Interface | HTMLElement |
Attributes
This element only supports the global attributes. The title
attribute has a specific semantic meaning when used with the <abbr>
element; it must contain a full human-readable description or expansion of the abbreviation. This text is often presented by browsers as a tooltip when the mouse cursor is hovered over the element.
Each <abbr>
element you use is independent from all others; providing a title
for one does not automatically attach the same expansion text to others with the same content text.
Usage notes
Typical use cases
It's certainly not required that all abbreviations be marked up using <abbr>
. There are, though, a few cases where it's helpful to do so:
- When an abbreviation is used and you want to provide an expansion or definition outside the flow of the document's content, use
<abbr>
with an appropriatetitle
. - To define an abbreviation which may be unfamiliar to the reader, present the term using
<abbr>
and either atitle
attribute or inline text providing the definition. - When an abbreviation's presence in the text needs to be semantically noted, the
<abbr>
element is useful. This can be used, in turn, for styling or scripting purposes. - You can use
<abbr>
in concert with<dfn>
to establish definitions for terms which are abbreviations or acronyms. See the example Defining an abbreviation below.
Grammar considerations
In languages with grammatical number (that is, languages where the number of items affects the grammar of a sentence), use the same grammatical number in your title
attribute as inside your <abbr>
element. This is especially important in languages with more than two numbers, such as Arabic, but is also relevant in English.
Default styling
The purpose of this element is purely for the convenience of the author and all browsers display it inline (display
: inline
) by default, though its default styling varies from one browser to another:
- Some browsers, like Internet Explorer, do not style it differently than a
<span>
element. - Opera, Firefox, and some others add a dotted underline to the content of the element.
- A few browsers not only add a dotted underline, but also put it in small caps; to avoid this styling, adding something like
font-variant
: none
in the CSS takes care of this case.
Examples
Marking up an abbreviation semantically
To mark up an abbreviation without providing an expansion or description, use <abbr>
without any attributes, as seen in this example.
HTML
<p>Using <abbr>HTML</abbr> is fun and easy!</p>
Result
Styling abbreviations
You can use CSS to set a custom style to be used for abbreviations, as seen in this simple example.
HTML
<p>Using <abbr>CSS</abbr>, you can style your abbreviations!</p>
CSS
abbr {
font-variant: all-small-caps;
}
Result
Providing an expansion
Adding a title
attribute lets you provide an expansion or definition for the abbreviation or acronym.
HTML
<p>Ashok's joke made me <abbr title="Laugh Out Loud">LOL</abbr> big
time.</p>
Result
Defining an abbreviation
You can use <abbr>
in tandem with <dfn>
to more formally define an abbreviation, as shown here.
HTML
<p><dfn id="html"><abbr title="HyperText Markup Language">HTML</abbr>
</dfn> is a markup language used to create the semantics and structure
of a web page.</p>
<p>A <dfn id="spec">Specification</dfn>
(<abbr title="Specification">spec</abbr>) is a document that outlines
in detail how a technology or API is intended to function and how it is
accessed.</p>
Result
Accessibility concerns
Spelling out the acronym or abbreviation in full the first time it is used on a page is beneficial for helping people understand it, especially if the content is technical or industry jargon.
Example
<p>JavaScript Object Notation (<abbr>JSON</abbr>) is a lightweight data-interchange format.</p>
This is especially helpful for people who are unfamiliar with the terminology or concepts discussed in the content, people who are new to the language, and people with cognitive concerns.
Specifications
Specification |
---|
HTML Standard # the-abbr-element |
Browser compatibility
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