HTML <abbr> Tag

The HTML <abbr> tag creates the 'abbr' element, which represents an abbreviation or acronym.

It is not necessarily a requirement to use the <abbr> when presenting an abbreviation. It is simply a tag that can be useful in many cases when doing so (for example, using the title attribute to expand on the abbreviation, or using style sheets to apply to the <abbr> element).

Note that the (global) title attribute has special semantics on the <abbr> element. If used, it must provide an expansion of the abbreviation/acronym (but nothing else).

Syntax

The <abbr> tag is written as <abbr></abbr> with the abbreviation/acronym inserted between the start and end tags. You can add the title attribute to the first instance of the abbreviation to provide an expansion.

Like this:

Examples

Basic tag usage

With Title Attribute

Plural

If an abbreviation or acronym is pluralized, the value of any title attribute must match any pluralization of the <abbr> contents.

In other words, if the plural is outside the <abbr> element, then the title attribute's value must be singular (i.e. not pluralized). If on the other hand, the plural is inside the <abbr> element, the title attribute's value must be plural.

Here's an example of the plural being outside the <abbr> element:

Here's an example of the plural being inside the <abbr> element:

Attributes

Attributes can be added to an HTML element to provide more information about how the element should appear or behave.

The <abbr> element accepts the following attributes.

AttributeDescription
None 

Global Attributes

The following attributes are standard across all HTML elements. Therefore, you can use these attributes with the <abbr> tag , as well as with all other HTML tags.

For a full explanation of these attributes, see HTML 5 global attributes.

Event Handlers

Event handler content attributes enable you to invoke a script from within your HTML. The script is invoked when a certain "event" occurs. Each event handler content attribute deals with a different event.

Most event handler content attributes can be used on all HTML elements, but some event handlers have specific rules around when they can be used and which elements they are applicable to.

For more detail, see HTML event handler content attributes.