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what are abbreviations?

An abbreviation is a short way of writing a word or a phrase that could a lso be written out in full. So, for example, you might write Dr Kinsey instead of Doctor Kinsey. Here Dr is an abbreviation for the word Doctor. Likewise, the phrase for example can sometimes be abbreviated to e.g. 

Many large and well-known organizations and companies have very long names which are commonly abbreviated to a set of initials written in capital letters, usually with no full stops. Here are a few familiar examples:

BBC British Broadcasting Corporation

ICI    Imperial Chemical Industries

FBI   Federal Bureau of Investigation