Join free

ABC

English · Español · Français · Deutsch · Português · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

ABC¹

  • /eɪ biː ˈsiː/

Where it comes from

From Middle English abece, ABC, from the first three letters of the Latin alphabet, standing for the whole alphabet.

noun ABCs · ABC's · absey

  1. US, countable, plural, uncountable, usually, in Canada The English alphabet. Do you know your ABC? (US: Do you know your ABCs?)

    Similar: absey, alphabet

  2. countable, obsolete, uncountable A type of poem in which the lines start with the letters of the alphabet in order.
  3. countable, obsolete, uncountable A primer for teaching the Latin alphabet and first elements of reading.
  4. countable, uncountable The fundamentals of any subject. the ABC of finance

    Similar: basics, fundamentals, alphabet

  5. countable, uncountable A straightforward, uniform playing style, often focusing on betting for value, folding weak hands, and avoiding bluffing.
  6. UK, countable, uncountable A British alphabetized guidebook listing trains and their stations. "That will do. How are the trains for Netherhempsfield?" Greatorex put down the notebook and took up an "ABC."
  7. US, abbreviation, countable, ellipsis, regional, uncountable Ellipsis of ABC store

ABC²

Where it comes from

Initialisms.

noun ABCs

  1. abbreviation, countable, initialism, mnemonic, uncountable Initialism of airway, breathing and circulation, the essential steps in the immediate assessment and treatment of critically ill or injured patients. I run my hands over his chest, assessing his ABCs: airway, breathing, circulation.
  2. US, abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of alcoholic beverage control Pennsylvania is one of 18 alcoholic beverage control states, commonly known as “ABC states.” In an ABC state, the state government controls the sale and distribution of various alcoholic beverages, depending on state law.
  3. abbreviation, countable, derogatory, initialism, sometimes, uncountable Initialism of American-born Chinese Everyone was Chinese. Some of the students were ABCs. That means "American-born Chinese." Others were FOBs. FOB means "fresh off the boat" and it is a bad insult. I didn't feel prejudiced about the FOBs because I was one of them.
  4. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of Australian-born Chinese Many argue, with justice, that the differences between the various groups of Chinese-Australians are such that it is impossible to speak in terms of a "cultural identity" common to them all (Ang 2001). On the other hand, the mainstream culture is rarely capable of making such distinctions: in the ey
  5. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of activity-based costing Activity-based costing is a powerful control tool. With ABC, the manager can access all departments and monitor the costs associated with any activity he or she wants to control.
  6. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of advance base camp Boga and Subhash with Sherpa Nim Dorje and Kedar Singh left early to open a route to advance base camp. […] They proceeded south along the left bank of the glacier. They could avoid the moraines by climbing the slopes near the bank. It was a long march and they established ABC at 4877 m on a small o
  7. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of ATP-binding cassette ABC transporter
  8. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of antigen-binding capacity
  9. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of age-associated B cell Together, these findings indicate that CD21/35⁻CD23⁻ B cells do not correspond to any previously defined B-cell subset, but share some characteristics with exhausted B cells. Because they emerge and may eventually predominate with age, we have termed them age-associated B cells (ABCs).
  10. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of aneurysmal bone cyst In the long bones, spine, and flat bones, the majority of aneurysmal bone cysts (ABCs) are eccentrically located whereas in the short tubular bones they are usually central in location. […] About 15% of all giant cell tumors have cystic areas that resemble ABC, and in about one third of all ABCs a p
  11. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of adenoid basal cell carcinoma
  12. abbreviation, countable, uncountable Abbreviation of abacavir
  13. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of accelerated blood clearance
  14. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of Atanasoff-Berry computer
  15. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of artificial bee colony
  16. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of assignment for the benefit of creditors Like foreclosure, an assignment for the benefit of creditors (ABC) is a creature of state law. ABCs have long been popular in a few states, most notably California and Illinois, but they are beginning to gain traction in other states as a less expensive alternative to bankruptcy.
  17. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of absorbing boundary condition As a matter of fact, when numerically handling a model originally established on an unbounded domain, it is compulsory to impose the pertinent ABC to terminate the endless mesh while retaining a well-posed and stable simulation.
  18. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of abstract base class Abstract base classes (ABCs) represent an interesting paradox. […] It is instructive to think of ABCs as tools rather than as part of the product.
  19. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of adventure-based counseling Creatively integrating counseling theory, research, and best practices has afforder me the opportunity to constructively engage clients in adventure-based counseling (ABC) activities that foster social, mental, and emotional development. Utilizing ABC as an innovative counseling approach for individ
  20. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of affect, behavior, and cognition.

    Similar: CAB

  21. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of alien big cat
  22. abbreviation, countable, initialism, uncountable Initialism of active body control
  23. abbreviation, countable, informal, initialism, uncountable Initialism of Archbishop of Canterbury

proper noun

  1. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of American Broadcasting Company, an American commercial broadcast television network founded in 1943. “The cost of appearing with this bloviating ignoramus is obvious, it seems to me,” he said on “This Week,” the ABC News program.
  2. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of Australian Broadcasting Corporation One of the terrorists who carried out the shooting attack at a Bondi Beach Hanukkah party was likely a Muslim man of Pakistani origin, a senior law enforcement official told ABC News. The man's name is Naveed Akram, from Bonnyrigg, and his house had been raided.
  3. abbreviation, historical, initialism Initialism of Australian Broadcasting Company
  4. abbreviation, historical, initialism Initialism of Australian Broadcasting Commission
  5. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of Asahi Broadcasting Corporation
  6. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of Agricultural Bank of China
  7. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of Audit Bureau of Circulations
  8. UK, abbreviation, historical, initialism Initialism of Aerated Bread Company, which ran a network of shops and cafeterias. It was not worth while to go back to Barnes for the interval between the closing of the Museum and his meal in an ABC shop, and the time hung heavily on his hands.
  9. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of Advance Booking Charter
  10. abbreviation, historical, initialism Initialism of Asian Basketball Confederation The first was the Asian Games, held every 4 years, and the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC), held every 2 years.
  11. abbreviation, historical, initialism Initialism of American Bowling Congress
  12. abbreviation, attributive, initialism, often Initialism of Argentina, Brazil and Chile, the three most powerful and wealthiest countries in South America. ABC countries
  13. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo and São Caetano do Sul, satellite cities around the city of São Paulo that form the most important industrial area in Brazil.
  14. US, abbreviation, initialism Initialism of Atlanta, Birmingham and Coast Railroad.
  15. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of American Book Center, an English-language bookstore in Amsterdam founded in 1972. The American Book Center in Amsterdam is home to one of the largest collections of English literature in continental Europe. Its rickety shelves, spread over four floors, are crammed with American masterpieces from the likes of Hemmingway and Flannery O’Connor. If non-fiction is more your buzz, ther
  16. An imperative general-purpose programming language, intended for teaching or prototyping.
  17. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of Anglican Book Centre, the publishing house and bookshop of the Anglican Church of Canada until 2013.

adjective

  1. abbreviation, initialism, not comparable Initialism of atomic, biological and chemical, the three main categories of weapon of mass destruction.

    Similar: NBC

  2. abbreviation, initialism, not comparable, slang, of a piece of chewing gum Initialism of already been chewed She'd chew the gum until she was finished with it for the day and store it in a tiny box in the refrigerator until she wanted another chew. If I accidentally threw out her gum, she was able to find someone else's ABC gum (already been chewed).
  3. abbreviation, initialism, not comparable, of diffuse large B cell lymphoma Initialism of activated B-cell-like

phrase

  1. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of anything but Chardonnay, a backlash against Chardonnay wine, seen as ubiquitous. He thought he was up-to-date on all the latest wine lingo until a longtime wine writer returned his sample request card with a bold, hand-written note on it that stated, “Send me all samples—ABC!” “ABC” threw my friend for a loop. When he called me, I translated the cryptic phrase—ABC is winespeak f
  2. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of abstinence, be faithful, use a condom, a sex education policy developed in response to the epidemic of HIV/AIDS in Africa. A final example of the iatrogenic effects of international public interventions is the impact on condom use that resulted from the “ABC” (Abstinence, Be Faithful, Use Condoms) approach to AIDS prevention, which has dominated programmatic efforts in Nigeria since about 2000. The President's Emergency
  3. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of always be charging, a recommendation to remember to charge or be left without use by a low battery at an inopportune time.
  4. Canadian, abbreviation, initialism Initialism of anything but Conservative

ABC³

Where it comes from

Like QWERTY, the name is based on the first letter keys.

noun ABCD · ABCDE

  1. uncountable A keyboard layout in which all keys are arranged in alphabetical order in English.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: basics, rudiments, handbook, xyz, sci, cae, abs, nbc, asc, ddc, fpm, bbi, bbc, aac, bcp, grocery

Translations

Every language

noun primer for learning the alphabet

DeutschAbc-Buch, Abecebuch, Abecedarium, Abcdarium, Buchstabierbuch, Lese-Lern-Buch
Русскийа́збука ázbuka, буква́рь bukvárʹ

noun rudiments

Españolabc, abecé
日本語いろは iroha
Portuguêsabc, abecê, á-bê-cê
Françaisb.a.-ba
Русскийа́збука ázbuka, азы́ azý
עבריתאָלֶף בֵּית álef bet

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"ABC." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/abc. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

ABC. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/abc

Chicago

"ABC." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/abc.

BibTeX
@misc{abc_2026,
  title = {ABC},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/abc},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}