Manuscript Writing

What Does “et al.” Mean? A Quick Guide for Researchers

This blog post explores exactly what "et al." means and how it should be used in academic writing.

If you’ve ever written or read an academic paper, you’ve likely seen the phrase et al. pop up in citations. But what does et al. actually mean? How should it be used correctly, and what are the differences between citation styles like APA, MLA, Chicago, and Vancouver?

This guide will walk you through the definition, origin, and proper usage of et al. so that your research writing stays polished, professional, and citation-compliant.

What Is the Meaning of “et al.”?

The Origin and Definition

The abbreviation et al. comes from the Latin phrase et alia, meaning “and others.” It’s used in academic citations to indicate that a work has multiple authors, but only the first one is listed for brevity.

There are several grammatical variants depending on gender:

et alii (masculine plural)
et aliae (feminine plural)
et alia (neuter plural, and the most common in academic writing)

Modern academic writing tends to default to the neuter form and abbreviates it as et al.—with a period after “al.” to mark the abbreviation.

Why Is et al. Used in Academic Writing?

Using et al. keeps citations concise, especially when referencing sources with three or more authors. Rather than listing a long string of contributors every time, researchers can cite just the first author followed by et al. For example:

In-text: (Nguyen et al., 2022)
Reference list: Smith, J., et al. (2019). Title of Work.

This shorthand not only saves space but also improves readability across scientific, medical, and humanities disciplines.

When Should You Use “et al.”?

Common Scenarios in Academic Writing

You’ll typically use et al. in:

In-text citations to keep references short.
Reference lists when style guides permit it for multi-author works.
Manuscript drafts and journal submissions, depending on required formatting.

Let’s look at how the major style guides handle et al.

Examples of “et al.” in Different Citation Styles

Style	In-text Citation	Reference List Example
APA	(Grady et al., 2019)	Grady JS, et al. (2019). Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000185
MLA	(Franck et al. 327)	Franck, Caroline, et al. “Agricultural Subsidies...” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, vol. 45, no. 3, 2013, pp. 327–333.
Chicago	(Dror et al. 2022, 10–11)	Dror, Amiel A., et al. “Pre-Infection 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 Levels…” PLOS ONE 17(2): e0263069. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263069
Vancouver	(2)	de Lima M, et al. Cord-blood engraftment… New England Journal of Medicine. 2012;367(24):2305–15. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1207285

Common Mistakes to Avoid With “et al.”

✅ Always include a period after “al.” (et al. is an abbreviation for et alia).
❌ Don’t italicize or capitalize et al. unless required by the style guide.
⚠️ Don’t assume the same rules apply across all citation styles—APA, MLA, and others differ.

Final Thoughts on Using “et al.” Properly

Understanding the meaning of et al. is a small but important skill in academic writing. It signals professionalism, helps manage space, and ensures consistency across citations. But it’s also easy to misuse if you’re switching between style guides or not double-checking formatting rules.

If you want a tool that makes academic writing simple—including the correct use of et al. and other common scholarly terms—the Resub Word Plugin is built specifically for researchers. It’s trained on academic writing, works directly inside Microsoft Word, and avoids black-box AI by keeping you in control.