What is guacamole informally shortened to in the United States? Guac is the familiar American-English shortening of guacamole.
The nickname is especially common in U.S. speech, restaurant menus, headlines, and sports-event food coverage. It is an informal abbreviation rather than a separate dish or ingredient. “Avo,” another short form associated with avocado in some varieties of English, does not specifically mean guacamole, while “mole” refers to a broader family of sauces.
The word guacamole itself comes from Classical Nahuatl āhuacamōlli, meaning “avocado sauce,” formed from words for avocado and sauce or mole. The dish originated in Mexico and later became widely popular internationally, particularly as a dip served with tortilla chips.
American food culture helped make “guac” highly recognizable beyond Mexican cuisine. It now appears in casual conversation and commercial food names, but formal writing generally uses the full word “guacamole.”