AUX
Abbreviation with 2 meanings
| Stands for | Auxiliary input |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 2 |
| Categories | Technology & Computing, Writing & Everyday |
| Also written | aux. |
AUX has two meanings. It stands for Auxiliary input (consumer electronics) or Auxiliary (verb) (grammar and dictionary).
Meanings of AUX at a glance
| # | AUX stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auxiliary input | Technology & Computing › Consumer Electronics |
| 2 | Auxiliary (verb) | Writing & Everyday › Grammar and Dictionary |
1. Auxiliary input
Technology & Computing · Consumer Electronics Abbreviations
Extra audio input, usually a 3.5 mm headphone-style jack, on car stereos, speakers, amplifiers and TVs, for connecting phones or music players with a cable.
Example: Plug your phone into the AUX port and play the playlist through the car speakers.
The "aux cord" became a cultural shorthand for whoever controls the music on a road trip. Many new cars have dropped AUX jacks in favor of Bluetooth, USB and phone-mirroring systems such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Phones without a headphone jack need a USB-C or Lightning adapter to use an AUX cable.
2. Auxiliary (verb) (aux.)
Writing & Everyday · Grammar and Dictionary Abbreviations
Denotes a helping verb used with a main verb to form tenses, moods, voices and questions, such as "be," "have," "do," and modal verbs like "can" and "must."
Example: have (aux.) used with a past participle to form perfect tenses: "She has finished."
The English modal auxiliaries (can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would) take no -s in the third person and are followed by a bare infinitive. "Do" support, which forms questions and negatives ("Do you know?"), is a feature rare among the world's languages. Some dictionaries write "aux. v." or "modal v." for clarity.
Related abbreviations
More consumer electronics abbreviations
- ANC – Active noise cancellation
- AR – Augmented reality
- ARC – Audio Return Channel
- ATSC – Advanced Television Systems Committee
- AV – Audio-visual
- AVR – Audio/video receiver
- BD – Blu-ray Disc
- BLE – Bluetooth Low Energy
See all 104 consumer electronics abbreviations →