"Et al." is a Latin abbreviation that stands for "et alii," meaning "and others." It is commonly used in academic writing and citations to refer to multiple authors of a work without listing all their names. This helps to keep references concise, especially when a source has many contributors. In scholarly articles, when a work has three or more authors, the first author's name is typically followed by "et al." For example, if a study was conducted by John Smith, Jane Doe, and Emily Johnson, it can be cited as "Smith et al." This practice is widely accepted in various fields, including science, literature, and social sciences.