2,000 English idioms, phrases and expressions that we use daily, with their meanings and origins explained...
1 An abbreviation might be formed using the first and last letter of the complete word.  2 Yard, for example, is abbreviated yd., and quart is abbreviated qt.. 3  Some measurement abbreviations are formed by using the first letter or two (or sometimes three) of the word. 4  Some examples of this are mi. ( 5 mile), in.
(and now the technical stuff, if you're interested). The foot or its plural form feet, uses the symbol ft, or often simply the apostrophe '. The meter or metre uses the symbol m. The meter is the SI (International System of Units) base unit of distance. In American English, German, Danish, Swedish, and others it is spelled meter. In British, Australian, Canadian, French, and others it is spelled metre. Other countries have different spellings as well including metr, metras, metri, and metro.