If you find this helpful, please click the Google |
![PDF](/images/pdf-format.png)
![mobile](/images/mobile-format.png)
HTML Tags for Acronyms, Abbreviations and Definitions
(Some links on this page take you to details in the HTML Tag Reference. Bookmark this page in your Favorites so you can come back to it later.)
The tags for including definitions, abbreviations and acronyms in HTML 5 include:
- abbr for abbreviations and acronyms in HTML (don't use the deprecated HTML <acronym> tag)
- dfn for definitions in HTML
For the meanings of HTML vocabulary terms, see Definitions of HTML Terminology.
Combining the <abbr> tag with the <dfn> tag
Using the <dfn> tag with <abbr> to define an acronym or abbreviation
The value of the title
attribute of the <dfn> tag should always be the term that is being defined. When an acronym or abbreviation is associated with a definition, it could be either the abbreviated form or its expanded meaning that is being defined. Whether the acronym or its expansion appears in the <dfn> tag's title
attribute, which identifies the specific term being defined, depends on whether it's the abbreviated form or its expanded meaning that is being defined.
Defining a term that is abbreviated
An <abbr>'s direct parent <dfn> tag will also assume the value of the <abbr>'s title
attribute. When an abbreviation is a short form of the actual term being defined, the title
attribute should be the full expanded acronym meaning, not the acronym or abbreviation that stands for the subject of the definition. Since this is the same purpose that the title
attribute of the <abbr> tag serves, the title can simply be coded there:
<dfn><abbr title="Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers">ICANN</abbr></dfn> is the international organization which helps ensure that Internet domain names are assigned in an orderly manner.
Defining the acronym or abbreviation itself
When an acronym's meaning is being clarified by expanding it, then it is the acronym itself that is being defined and the title
attribute of the parent <dfn> tag also needs to be coded to indicate it is not the expanded meaning in the <abbr> tag's title but the acronym or abbreviation itself that is being defined:
When we use the acronym <dfn title="RSS"><abbr title="Really Simple Syndication">RSS</abbr></dfn> it is the abbreviation for <b>Really Simple Syndication</b>, not RDF Site Summary.
There are some good examples of defining acronyms in HTML on the Acronyms.net site.