St.
Abbreviation with 11 meanings
| Stands for | Saint |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 11 |
| Categories | Religion, Geography & Places, Medical, Units & Measurements, Sports |
| Also written | s.t., ST, St, st |
St. has 11 meanings. The most common are Saint (religious title) and Street (address); it can also stand for Speech therapy, ST segment, Stone, Such that and Striker, plus 4 more listed below.
Meanings of St. at a glance
| # | St. stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint | Religion › Religious Title |
| 2 | Street | Geography & Places › Address |
| 3 | Speech therapy | Medical › Rehabilitation |
| 4 | ST segment | Medical › Cardiology |
| 5 | Stone | Units & Measurements › US Customary and Imperial Unit |
| 6 | Such that | Units & Measurements › Math |
| 7 | Striker | Sports › Soccer (Association Football) |
| 8 | Sinus tachycardia | Medical › Cardiology |
| 9 | Special teams | Sports › American Football |
| 10 | Step therapy | Medical › Pharmacy |
| 11 | São Tomé and Príncipe | Geography & Places › Country Code |
1. Saint
Religion · Religious Title Abbreviations · also used in geography
Title for a person formally recognized by the Catholic or Orthodox Church, or honored by Anglican and Lutheran traditions, as holy and in heaven, as in St. Francis of Assisi. It also appears in thousands of place names, churches, schools and hospitals.
Example: The parish celebrates the feast of St. Patrick with a Mass and parade on March 17.
AP style abbreviates Saint as St. in names of saints and most places (St. Louis, St. Paul) but writes out Saint John, New Brunswick, and uses Ste. in Sault Ste. Marie. British style often omits the period (St). Catholic canonization usually requires two verified miracles after death, except for martyrs. Context separates St. (Saint) from St. (Street).
2. Street (St)
Geography & Places · Address Abbreviations
The most common US street suffix, used for public roads lined with buildings in towns and city grids. Second Street is often cited as the single most common street name in the United States, ahead of Third and First.
Example: Deliver to 220 W 2nd St, Apt 4B, and leave the package with the doorman.
USPS Publication 28 lists ST as the standard form, written in capitals without a period on mail; St. with a period is common in prose. The same letters mean Saint in place names, so an address like 12 St Louis St is perfectly normal. In Manhattan, numbered streets run east–west and avenues north–south.
3. Speech therapy (ST)
Medical · Rehabilitation Abbreviations
Therapy service treating speech, language, voice, fluency, cognitive-communication and swallowing disorders, delivered by speech-language pathologists. Hospital orders often read "ST eval and treat".
Example: ST eval: mild aphasia, oral dysphagia; recommend IDDSI level 6 soft diet.
Also called speech-language pathology (SLP) services. In hospitals, swallowing evaluations make up a large part of ST work. In cardiology ST refers to the ST segment of the ECG and sinus tachycardia, so the context is important.
4. ST segment (ST)
Medical · Cardiology Abbreviations
Portion of the ECG between the end of the QRS complex (the J point) and the start of the T wave, when the ventricles are fully depolarized. Elevation or depression of this segment is the main ECG sign of acute myocardial injury or ischemia.
Example: ST elevation in II, III and aVF with reciprocal depression in aVL suggests acute inferior injury.
The letters are wave labels rather than shortened words: Willem Einthoven named the ECG deflections P, Q, R, S and T. ST changes are measured in millimeters at the J point, and causes other than infarction include pericarditis, left ventricular hypertrophy, bundle branch block, early repolarization and digoxin effect. In rhythm descriptions ST can also mean sinus tachycardia.
5. Stone (st)
Units & Measurements · US Customary and Imperial Unit Abbreviations
A British and Irish unit of body weight equal to 14 pounds, about 6.35 kilograms. People in the UK commonly give their weight in stones and pounds, as in 11 st 4 lb.
Example: He was 15 st at New Year and is now down to 13 st 10 lb.
Never used in the United States, where body weight is given in pounds. Medical records in the UK use kilograms, but stones remain usual in conversation, newspapers and weight-loss clubs. The plural in British English is usually stone ("12 stone"). Historically, a stone of different commodities had different weights, such as 8 pounds for meat.
6. Such that (s.t.)
Units & Measurements · Math Abbreviations
Shorthand in mathematical notes, proofs and problem sets that introduces a condition, as in "there exists x s.t. x² = 2". It often replaces a colon or vertical bar in set-builder notation.
Example: Show there exists an integer k s.t. n = 2k + 1.
Common on blackboards and in homework but avoided in formal publications, where "such that" is spelled out. In optimization, "s.t." introduces the constraints, as in "minimize f(x) s.t. g(x) ≤ 0". Logicians sometimes use a colon or the symbol ∋ for the same purpose.
7. Striker (ST)
Sports · Soccer (Association Football) Abbreviations
Most advanced forward, whose main job is to score goals, often called the "number 9". Strikers lead the line, hold up the ball and finish chances inside the penalty area.
Example: Haaland, the lone ST in a 4-3-3, scored a hat trick before halftime.
Erling Haaland set the Premier League record of 36 goals in a 38-game season in 2022-23. A "target man" is a tall striker who wins headers. In American football ST means special teams.
8. Sinus tachycardia (ST)
Medical · Cardiology Abbreviations
Normal-shaped sinus rhythm faster than 100 beats per minute in adults, usually a physiological response to fever, pain, dehydration, anemia, anxiety, exercise or stimulants. Treatment targets the cause rather than the rate itself.
Example: Telemetry overnight: ST at 118, temp 38.6; fluids and acetaminophen given.
Unexplained persistent sinus tachycardia can be an early clue to pulmonary embolism, sepsis, hyperthyroidism or bleeding. Inappropriate sinus tachycardia (IST) and POTS are chronic syndromes of excessive sinus rate. Because "ST" usually refers to the ST segment, many clinicians write "sinus tach" to avoid confusion.
9. Special teams (ST)
Sports · American Football Abbreviations
Units that take the field for kicking plays: kickoffs, kick returns, punts, punt returns, field goals and extra points. A special teams coordinator coaches these units, which are staffed largely by backup players.
Example: Two ST blunders, a blocked punt and a muffed kickoff, cost them the game.
Coaches call special teams the "third phase" of the game after offense and defense. Core special teamers, such as gunners on punt coverage, often make rosters mainly through these units. In soccer ST means striker.
10. Step therapy (ST)
Medical · Pharmacy Abbreviations
Insurance requirement that a patient first try one or more lower-cost or preferred drugs, and have them fail or cause side effects, before the plan will cover a more expensive one. It is also called "fail first".
Example: Plan requires ST: two preferred TNF inhibitors before covering the requested biologic.
Many US states have passed step therapy reform laws that require timely exceptions, for example when a patient is stable on a drug or the preferred drug is contraindicated. Since 2019 Medicare Advantage plans have been allowed to apply step therapy to some Part B drugs. ST has many other medical meanings, such as ST segment and speech therapy.
11. São Tomé and Príncipe (ST)
Geography & Places · Country Code Abbreviations
Two-island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, lying almost on the equator, and Africa's second-smallest country by area. São Tomé is the capital, and cocoa is the main export.
Example: The .st domain, ST's ccTLD, is sometimes used for English word plays.
The alpha-3 code is STP. Portuguese is the official language. ST also abbreviates street and saint.
Related abbreviations
More religious title abbreviations
- SJ – Society of Jesus
- SM – Society of Mary
- Sr. – Sister
- SSND – School Sisters of Notre Dame
- Sts. – Saints
- SVD – Society of the Divine Word
- Ven. – Venerable (stage of canonization)
- Very Rev. – Very Reverend
See all 60 religious title abbreviations →
More address abbreviations
- Spc – Space
- Spg – Spring
- Sq – Square
- Sta – Station
- Ste – Suite
- STN – Station
- Stra – Stravenue
- Ter – Terrace
See all 118 address abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.