Goal
Help users understand abbreviations.
Success Criterion · WCAG 3.1.4
Abbreviations
A mechanism for identifying the expanded form or meaning of abbreviations is available.
Level AAAWCAG 2.0Understandable3.1 · Readable
Copy button ready
What to do
Provide expansions or a mechanism to find expansions for abbreviations (especially those that are ambiguous).
Why it matters
Abbreviations can confuse users, including people with cognitive disabilities and non-native speakers.
Success criterion
What WCAG 3.1.4 requires
Summarized directly from the official Understanding document so teams can quote the requirement accurately.
A mechanism for identifying the expanded form or meaning of abbreviations is available.
Intent
Why WCAG created this requirement
- Abbreviations can have multiple meanings; expansions remove ambiguity.
- Users should not need external knowledge to understand content.
- A glossary or first-use expansion is a common mechanism.
Benefits
Who gains when you pass
- Users with cognitive disabilities can understand terms without guessing.
- Non-native speakers can interpret abbreviations correctly.
- Newcomers can learn domain abbreviations quickly.
Why it matters
User impact when this criterion fails
Summaries drawn from the Understanding document help you socialize impact statements with product stakeholders.
Users may misinterpret or fail to understand content dense with abbreviations.
Important instructions may be unclear if key abbreviations aren’t expanded.
Overview
Provide the expanded form of abbreviations (e.g., “WCAG” → “Web Content Accessibility Guidelines”) via `<abbr>`, inline expansions, or a glossary.
- Expand abbreviations on first use, especially in headings and primary instructions.
- Use `<abbr title="...">` where appropriate.
- Ensure expansions are accessible on touch and keyboard (don’t rely only on hover title tooltips).
Reference: All summaries and highlights originate from Understanding WCAG 3.1.4 and the W3C quick reference.
Fast facts
- Conformance level
- Level AAA
- WCAG version introduced
- WCAG 2.0
- Principle
- Understandable
- Guideline
- 3.1 · Readable
Examples
Make success tangible for teams
Share pass/fail snapshots to coach designers, engineers, QA, and content authors.
Abbreviation in text
Pass
<abbr title="Web Content Accessibility Guidelines">WCAG</abbr> 2.2
Fail
“WCAG” used repeatedly with no expansion anywhere.
Ambiguous abbreviation
Pass
“AI (Artificial Intelligence)” is expanded on first use.
Fail
“AI” used with no expansion, ambiguous to readers.
Evidence to keep
Document conformance decisions
Capture artifacts for VPATs, procurement reviews, and regression testing.
- Maintain an abbreviation list and its expansions for content authors.
- Document guidelines for first-use expansions and glossary linking.
Official resources
Deep dives and supporting material
Keep these links handy when writing acceptance criteria or responding to audits.
Implementation checklist
Capture progress and blockers
- Identify abbreviations used across the product and content.
- Expand on first use or add `<abbr title>` with the expansion.
- Create a glossary for frequently used abbreviations.
- Ensure expansion mechanisms work for keyboard and touch users.
Testing ideas
Prove conformance with evidence
- Scan for abbreviations and verify expansions exist.
- Test expansion mechanism with keyboard and screen reader.
- Verify touch users can access the expansion (not hover-only).
Related success criteria