vol.

Writing & Everyday abbreviation · Citation and Bibliography

vol.
Stands forVolume
CategoriesWriting & Everyday

vol. stands for Volume, a citation and bibliography abbreviation.

Identifies a numbered volume of a multivolume book, encyclopedia or journal in citations and catalogs. Journal volumes usually correspond to one year of publication.

Example: Gibbon, Edward. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Vol. 3. London, 1781.

Usage notes

The plural is vols. APA and many science styles omit "vol." for journals and italicize the volume number instead, as in "12(3), 45-67." MLA writes "vol. 12, no. 3." On audio equipment, "vol" means loudness, an unrelated sense.

More citation and bibliography abbreviations

  • abr. – Abridged
  • AMA – AMA Manual of Style
  • anon. – Anonymous
  • AP – Associated Press Stylebook
  • APA – American Psychological Association (style)
  • app. – Appendix
  • ARC – Advance reader copy
  • bibliog. – Bibliography
  • bk. – Book
  • ch. – Chapter
  • CMOS – Chicago Manual of Style
  • col. – Column

See all 58 citation and bibliography abbreviations →

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