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  1. References
  2. HTML
  3. Reference
  4. Elements
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In this article

  • Try it
  • Attributes
  • Usage notes
  • Default styling
  • Accessibility
  • Examples
  • Technical summary
  • Specifications
  • Browser compatibility
  • See also
  1. HTML
  2. Guides
  3. Content categories
  4. Comments
  5. Date and time formats
  6. Constraint validation
  7. Viewport meta element
  8. Responsive images
  9. Microdata
  10. Microformats
  11. Quirks and standards modes
  12. HTML cheatsheet
  13. How to
  14. Define terms with HTML
  15. Use data attributes
  16. Use cross-origin images
  17. Add a hitmap on top of an image
  18. Author fast-loading HTML pages
  19. Add JavaScript
  20. Reference
  21. Elements
    1. Deprecated
    2. Deprecated

    3. Deprecated
    4. Deprecated
    5. Experimental
    6. Deprecated
    7. Deprecated
    8. Deprecated

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.

Examples

Marking up an abbreviation semantically

To mark up an abbreviation without providing an expansion or description, use without any attributes, as seen in this example.

HTML

html

Using HTML is fun and easy!

Result

Styling abbreviations

You can use CSS to set a custom style to be used for abbreviations, as seen in this basic example.

HTML

html

Using CSS, you can style your abbreviations!

CSS

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

html

Ashok's joke made me LOL big time.

Result

Defining an abbreviation

You can use in tandem with to more formally define an abbreviation, as shown here.

HTML

html

HTML is a markup language used to create the semantics and structure of a web page.

A Specification (spec) is a document that outlines in detail how a technology or API is intended to function and how it is accessed.

Result

Technical summary

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

Specifications

Specification
HTML
# the-abbr-element

Browser compatibility

See also

  • Using the element

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