Meaning & use
abbreviation for potential
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
A request for the short written form of the word "potential".
Grammar: Used as a noun phrase when someone asks how to shorten this word; the answer is a short form, not a definition.
Patterns
- the abbreviation for potential is …
- what is the abbreviation for potential?
A student wrote in the margin: "What is the abbreviation for potential?" and the teacher wrote back "pot."
In a lab report, the abbreviation for potential is usually written as "pot." before the unit, as in "pot. 12 V".
She searched online for the abbreviation for potential because the diagram was too small for the full word.
abbreviationtechnicalspecialist
The short form "pot.", used mainly in science and engineering writing for "potential".
Grammar: Written with a period in British style; often left without one in American technical notes.
Patterns
- pot. difference
- pot. energy
The label on the old battery read "pot. 9 V", meaning a potential of nine volts.
Engineers often write "pot." in circuit diagrams to save space.
In his notebook he used "pot." for potential and "curr." for current.
Common combinations
- abbreviation for potential
- The abbreviation for potential in this textbook is "pot."
- short form of potential
- "Pot." is the short form of potential used in physics.
- write out in full
- In the final draft, write out "potential" in full instead of using the abbreviation.
- standard abbreviation
- "Pot." is the standard abbreviation in electrical engineering.
- symbol for potential
- The symbol for potential in equations is often the letter V.
Synonyms and how they differ
- short form
- A general term for any shortened way of writing a word; "abbreviation" is the more formal word for the same idea.
- contraction
- Use this for shortened forms like "don't"; it is not the right word for a written short form like "pot.".
Word family
- abbreviate verb
- To make a word or phrase shorter.
- abbreviated adjective
- Shortened, as in an abbreviated version of a text.
- abbreviation noun
- A shortened form of a word or phrase.
Commonly confused: abbreviation for potential or potential? abbreviation for potential or acronym?
abbreviation for potential vs potential
The full word, meaning a possible ability or a voltage; the abbreviation is only its short written form.
abbreviation for potential vs acronym
An acronym is made from the first letters of several words (like "NASA"); "pot." is a shortening of one word, so it is not an acronym.
Practice
Which sentence uses the standard abbreviation for "potential" correctly in a physics context?
Choose one answer.
"Pot." is the accepted short form of "potential" in technical writing, so it can stand before "difference". Option 1 spells the word out, which is correct but does not use an abbreviation; option 2 uses "potential" in its everyday sense; option 3 uses the unrelated noun "pot".
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “abbreviation for potential”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.