Merriam-Webster's Word Central

October 15, 2009

abridge (verb): \uh-BRIJ\
What does it mean?: : to lessen in length or extent : shorten
How do you use it?: Mr. Blum instructed us to abridge our full reports to one page, and to turn in the summary along with the rest of the project.
Are you a word wiz?: Only one of the sentences below uses the verb "abridge" correctly. Which one is it?

A. Cathy was all abridge over the news that her puppy was sick.

B. My grandma often says, "I'll cross that abridge when I come to it."

C. The stream was a small one and we abridged it easily.

D. Audio book publishers often abridge novels so they require fewer tapes.

Even a short explanation of the meaning of "abridge" shows that the word is only used correctly in sentence D. In sentence A, "abridge" is used as an adjective, while in sentence B it is used as a noun. Since "abridge" is a verb, neither of those choices is correct. Sentence C uses "abridge" as a verb, but its meaning is all wrong -- it means "shortened," not "crossed over." If the meaning of "abridge" is still eluding you, just remember that it comes from the same Latin root as another word for shortening things: "abbreviate."

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