colloq.

Writing & Everyday abbreviation · Grammar and Dictionary

colloq. stands for Colloquial, a grammar and dictionary abbreviation.

Marks words and phrases typical of informal conversation rather than formal writing, such as "kids," "gonna" or "fed up." Dictionaries use the label to guide choices of register.

Example: kid (n.) colloq. a child or young person, as in "she has three kids at home."

Usage notes

Colloquial does not mean incorrect: it describes register, the level of formality suited to a situation. Many modern dictionaries replaced colloq. with "informal" because some readers took "colloquial" to imply local or substandard speech. Colloquial language sits between neutral standard usage and slang.

Related abbreviations

More grammar and dictionary abbreviations

• art. – Article
• attrib. – Attributive
• Austral. – Australian
• aux. – Auxiliary (verb)
• BrE – British English
• Brit. – British
• compar. – Comparative
• conj. – Conjunction
• contr. – Contraction
• dat. – Dative
• derog. – Derogatory
• det. – Determiner

See all 93 grammar and dictionary abbreviations →

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