VAR
Abbreviation with 6 meanings
| Stands for | Video assistant referee |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 6 |
| Categories | Sports, Medical, Units & Measurements, Technology & Computing, Writing & Everyday |
| Also written | Var, var. |
VAR has six meanings. The most common are Video assistant referee (soccer (Association football)) and Varicella vaccine (pediatric & neonatal); it can also stand for Variance, Value-added reseller, Variant and Vector autoregression.
Meanings of VAR at a glance
| # | VAR stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Video assistant referee | Sports › Soccer (Association Football) |
| 2 | Varicella vaccine | Medical › Pediatric & Neonatal |
| 3 | Variance | Units & Measurements › Statistics |
| 4 | Value-added reseller | Technology & Computing › Software |
| 5 | Variant | Writing & Everyday › Grammar and Dictionary |
| 6 | Vector autoregression | Units & Measurements › Statistics |
1. Video assistant referee
Sports · Soccer (Association Football) Abbreviations
Officiating system in which a referee watching video can recommend that the on-field referee review a clear error involving goals, penalties, direct red cards or mistaken identity. Also refers to the official operating the system.
Example: The goal was ruled out after a lengthy VAR check for offside.
IFAB approved VAR in March 2018; it debuted at a World Cup in Russia later that year and in the Premier League in 2019-20. The referee signals a review by drawing a rectangle in the air. Frequent delays and offside calls by millimeters have made it one of the most debated changes in the sport.
2. Varicella vaccine
Medical · Pediatric & Neonatal Abbreviations
Live vaccine that prevents chickenpox, given in two doses at 12–15 months and 4–6 years, and to adolescents and adults without immunity. It has greatly reduced chickenpox cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the US.
Example: VAR dose 2 given at age 4 with DTaP and IPV.
VAR is the CDC's official abbreviation; the vaccine was licensed in the US in 1995, and a second dose was added to the schedule in 2006. Mild breakthrough chickenpox can still occur. Because it is a live vaccine, it is generally avoided in pregnancy and severe immunosuppression. It is different from the shingles vaccine.
3. Variance (Var)
Units & Measurements · Statistics Abbreviations
The average squared deviation of values from their mean, the square of the standard deviation. Probability texts write Var(X), and spreadsheets compute it with VAR.S and VAR.P.
Example: If Var(X) = 16, the standard deviation of X is 4.
Variances of independent variables add, Var(X + Y) = Var(X) + Var(Y), which is why portfolio risk and measurement-error calculations work with variance. The sample variance divides by n − 1. Because it is in squared units, variance is less intuitive than the SD for reporting. Ronald Fisher introduced the term in 1918.
4. Value-added reseller
Technology & Computing · Software Abbreviations
Company that resells hardware or software from vendors such as Cisco, Microsoft or Dell together with its own services, including installation, configuration, integration and support. Small and midsize businesses often buy technology this way.
Example: We bought the firewall through a VAR that also handled installation and staff training.
VARs earn margins on products and fees for services. They differ from distributors, which sell to resellers rather than end customers, and from MSPs, which charge recurring fees to run systems. In soccer, VAR means video assistant referee; in finance, value at risk.
5. Variant (var.)
Writing & Everyday · Grammar and Dictionary Abbreviations
Identifies an alternative spelling or form of a word, as in "var. of judgment." It appears in dictionaries, glossaries and indexes.
Example: gaol (n.) Brit. var. of jail, now rare except in historical contexts
Dictionaries list variants in order of frequency or acceptability, and words such as "also" or "or" signal equal variants. In botany, var. means "variety," a rank below species, as in Brassica oleracea var. capitata (cabbage). In statistics, var denotes the variance of a data set.
6. Vector autoregression
Units & Measurements · Statistics Abbreviations
A time-series model in which several variables are each regressed on past values of themselves and of the others. Macroeconomists use VARs to study how GDP, inflation and interest rates interact.
Example: A VAR with four lags traced the response of inflation to an interest rate shock.
Christopher Sims championed VARs in a 1980 paper, work recognized with the 2011 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Impulse response functions and Granger causality tests are standard VAR outputs. In finance VaR means value at risk, and in probability Var means variance.
Related abbreviations
More soccer (Association football) abbreviations
- UECL – UEFA Conference League
- UEL – UEFA Europa League
- USMNT – United States men's national soccer team
- USWNT – United States women's national soccer team
- WB – Wing-back
- WC – World Cup
- xA – Expected assists
- xG – Expected goals
See all 46 soccer (Association football) abbreviations →
More pediatric & neonatal abbreviations
- AGE – Acute gastroenteritis
- AHT – Abusive head trauma
- ALTE – Apparent life-threatening event
- APGAR – Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration (Apgar score)
- BRUE – Brief resolved unexplained event
- CCHD – Critical congenital heart disease
- DD – Developmental delay
- DOL – Day of life
See all 51 pediatric & neonatal abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.