Common Abbreviations

Are you reading through apartment listings and seeing nothing but a bunch of gibberish? Want to know what a listing means when it says "mod apt, w brk, w/w in lr, ns?" Well, here's a list with some common abbreviations used for newspaper and online apartment listings:

Abbreviation

Description

a/c (or air)

air conditioning

appl

appliances (may include refrigerator, range, stove, dishwasher, microwave, and/or garbage disposal)

apt

apartment

avail

date when apartment is for rent

ba (or bath)

bathroom

bdrm (or br)

bedroom

beau

beautiful

bldg

building

blk

block

brk

brick

cas

central air conditioning

cpt

carpet

dbl double

two separate apartments on different floors

dep

deposit

dr (or din rm)

dining room

duplex

an apartment with a 1st and 2nd floor

d/w

dishwasher

dwnpymt

down-payment

effcy (or eff)

efficiency (usually a one-room apartment with a very small kitchen)

e, g, c, p

electric, gas, cable, phone

elec

electricity

eves

evenings

f

female

flrs

floors

fpl

fireplace

fridge

refrigerator

full bath

bathroom with a sink, toilet and bathtub/shower or stall shower

furn

furnished

gar

garage

grad

graduate student

half bath

bathroom with sink and toilet

hook-ups

electric and plumbing facilities for washer/dryer (washer/dryer may not be included)

hw or hdwd

hardwood floors

hse

house

inc all util

includes all utilities

kit

kitchen

kitchenette

very small kitchen

landlord

person who owns and/or manages apartment

lge

large

lower

lower/first floor apartment

lr

living room

m

male

mi

mile

mkt

market

mod

modern

nr

near

ns

non-smoker

off st prking

off-street parking

part furn

partially furnished

pkng

parking

plus util

utilities not included

pref

prefer

prof

professional

rd

road

rms

rooms

sec (or secur) dep

security deposit (money the tenant pays the landlord from which the cost to repair any damages the tenant may do can be deducted)

sep

separate

sml

small

studio

generally a one-room apartment

svc

service

twnhse

townhouse

transp

transportation

unfurn

unfurnished

upper

upper/second floor apartment

util

utilities (generally includes gas, electric and water; may include cable and telephone)

w/d

washer and dryer

w/w

wall to wall carpeting (carpeting that covers the entire floor surface)

yd

yard