Wash.

Geography & Places abbreviation · US State Traditional

Wash. stands for Washington, a US state traditional abbreviation.

AP, GPO and Bluebook abbreviation of Washington State, as in SPOKANE, Wash., or D-Wash. It is never used for Washington, D.C., which is written simply Washington in AP datelines or followed by D.C. when needed.

Example: SPOKANE, Wash. — Wildfire smoke drifted across the city for the third straight day.

Usage notes

Because the state and the capital share a name, writers add Wash. or say Washington state (lowercase state in AP style) whenever confusion is possible. Seattle stands alone in AP datelines. The postal code is WA.

Related abbreviations

More US state traditional abbreviations

• Ala. – Alabama
• Ariz. – Arizona
• Ark. – Arkansas
• Cal. – California
• Calif. – California
• Colo. – Colorado
• Conn. – Connecticut
• Del. – Delaware
• Fla. – Florida
• Ill. – Illinois
• Ind. – Indiana
• Kan. – Kansas

See all 36 US state traditional abbreviations →

Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.