HTML <abbr> element

The <abbr> element identifies an abbreviation or acronym within text. Its optional title attribute supplies the full expansion. For example, title="Hypertext Markup Language" gives the expanded form of "HTML." When provided, the attribute should contain the expansion alone.

Browsers commonly display the title as a tooltip when the pointer rests over the abbreviation. Access to this information varies with the browser, input method, and assistive technology. Giving an unfamiliar term's expansion in the surrounding text, usually at its first occurrence, makes the meaning available without relying on the tooltip.

The element can also be used without title, for example when the expansion has already been given nearby. Each occurrence is independent: a later <abbr> does not automatically acquire the title of an earlier one with the same text. HTML does not require every abbreviation or every repeated occurrence to be marked up.

An abbreviation remains part of the surrounding line of text. Browsers may distinguish an abbreviation with a title using a dotted underline; its appearance can also be controlled with CSS.

Attributes: GLOBALS. The global title attribute has a specific role here: it supplies the full expansion of the abbreviation.

Typical layout:
<p>
  Hypertext Markup Language
  (<abbr title="Hypertext Markup Language">HTML</abbr>)
  describes the structure of a web page.
</p>

Visual representation: