<abbr>: The ABBR Element
Last updated: 2026-10-13
<abbr>The ABBR Element
Represents an abbreviation or acronym; pair it with the title attribute to spell out the full form.
| Category | Text Content |
|---|---|
| Content Model | Phrasing content |
| Allowed Parents | Any element that accepts phrasing content |
| Content Tag | Yes — requires closing </abbr> tag |
| Status | Standard |
📝 Syntax
<abbr title="HyperText Markup Language">HTML</abbr>▶ Example
Edit the code below and see the live result in the playground:
🌐 Browser Support
| Browser |  Chrome |
 Edge |
 Firefox |
 Safari |
 Opera |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <abbr> | ✓ v1 | ✓ v12 | ✓ v1 | ✓ v1 | ✓ v1 |
| Supported in all major browsers | |||||
Tip： Add a title attribute to <abbr> so the full meaning shows on hover—better for accessibility and SEO.
❓ FAQ
QWhat does the abbr tag do?
A
<abbr> marks an abbreviation and provides the full form via the title attribute, e.g. <abbr title='HyperText Markup Language'>HTML</abbr>. Hovering shows the tooltip, and screen readers and search engines understand what the abbreviation stands for.QDoes the abbr title work on mobile?
APoorly — touch devices have no hover, so the title tooltip almost never shows. On mobile, write the full term at first occurrence (e.g. HyperText Markup Language (HTML)) or use
<details> or a custom tap-to-reveal tooltip.QShould abbr be combined with dfn?
AWhen the page is defining the term, yes:
<dfn><abbr title='CSS'>CSS</abbr></dfn>. For ordinary running text, a bare <abbr> is enough — do not wrap every occurrence in dfn.🏷️ Related Tags
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