Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations formed from the initial components in a phrase or name. An abbreviation (from Latin brevis, meaning short) is a shortened form of a word or phrase. For example, the word abbreviation can itself be represented by the abbreviation abbr.,
Why do you need to know this? Well, you don't, but you will find them cropping up in business, and education, and nowadays in forums, when you're texting and in chat rooms. So, it's a good idea to at least be aware of their existence.
Symbol |
Meaning |
| & |
and |
| ~ |
approximately / about / more or less |
| @ |
at |
| ° |
degree |
| $ |
Dollar |
| = |
equals/is the same as |
| € |
Euro |
| > |
greater / better / more than |
| ∞ |
infinity |
| < |
less / smaller than |
| - |
minus |
| # |
number |
| ¶ |
paragraph |
| % |
per cent |
| + |
plus, in addition to |
| £ |
Pound |
| § |
section |
| \ |
therefore |
| ¥ |
Yen |
24/7 |
24 hours a day, 7 days a week |
404 |
I don't know |
| |
|
| abbr. |
abbreviation |
| addr. |
address |
| AGM |
annual general meeting |
aka |
also known as |
| aob |
any other business |
| approx. |
approximately |
| asap |
as soon as possible |
| asst. |
assortment |
| b/c |
because |
| BSOD |
blue screen of death - as experienced by most Windows users |
| BTW |
by the way |
| c. or ca. |
circa, about c.1800 |
| C19 |
nineteenth century |
| cd. |
could |
| CEO |
chief executive officer |
| cf. |
compare this with... |
| Ch. |
chapter |
c/o |
care of |
| cob |
close of business |
| compl. |
complete |
| corp. |
corporation |
| CRM |
customer relationship management |
| CSR |
corporate social responsibility |
| ct. |
contrast |
| ctrl. |
control |
| CV |
curriclum vitae |
| dept. |
department |
| devt. |
development |
| diff. |
difference |
diy |
do it yourself |
| edn. |
edition |
| educ. |
education |
e.g. |
exempli gratia (for example) |
| encl. |
enclosed |
EOB |
end of business |
| EOM |
end of message |
esp. |
especially |
ETA |
estimated time of arrival |
| et al. |
et alii (and everyone else) |
etc. |
etcetera (and so forth) |
| FAQ(s) |
frequently asked question(s) |
| fifo |
first in first out |
| filo |
first in last out |
| fwd |
forwarded |
| FYA |
for your attention |
FYI |
for your information |
| gigo |
garbage in garbage out |
GMT |
Greenwich Mean Time |
| Govt. |
Government |
| HQ |
headquarters |
| hr. |
hour |
| HR |
Human Resources |
| ht. |
height |
i.e. |
id est (that is, that means) |
| impt. |
important |
| info. |
information |
| ISBN |
international standard book number |
JIT |
Just In Time |
| lifo |
last in first out |
| lilo |
last in last out |
| ltd |
limited |
| max. |
maximum |
| MD |
managing director |
| min. |
minimum |
| movt. |
movement |
MPH |
miles per hour |
NB |
nota bene (important, notice this) |
| no(s) |
number(s) |
| ok |
okay |
p. |
page |
| pp. |
paginae (pages) |
para. |
paragraph |
| pc(s) |
piece(s) |
| PLC |
public limited company |
pls. |
please |
ppl. |
people |
| PR |
public relations |
prob. |
problem |
PTO |
please turn over |
| qtr. |
quarter |
| R&D |
research and development |
| re. |
res (with reference to / regarding) |
| rep. |
representative |
| RSVP |
respondez s'il vous plait (please reply) |
| |
|
| sae |
stamped addressed envelope |
| sec. |
second |
| SME |
small and medium (size) enterprises |
| SWOT |
strengths weaknesses opportunities threats |
| TBA |
to be announced |
| temp. |
temperature / temporary |
| USP |
unique selling point |
vgc |
very good condition |
| VP |
vice president |
| vs |
against |
| wd |
would |
w/ |
with |
| w/o |
without |
| wt. |
weight |
wysiwyg
|
What You See Is What You Get |
| BA |
Bachelor of Arts |
| BEd |
Bachelor of Education |
| BSc |
Bachelor of Science |
| MA |
Master of Arts |
| MBA |
Master of Business Administration |
| MSc |
Master of Science |
| PhD |
Philosophiae Doctor (Doctor of Philosophy) |
| |
|
404 |
I don't know |
| A3 |
Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere |
| AAK |
Alive and Kicking |
| AAP |
Always a Pleasure |
| AAR |
At Any Rate |
| AFAIK |
As Far As I Know |
| AFK |
Away from Keyboard |
| AOTA |
All Of The Above |
| ATM |
At The Moment |
| AWHFY |
Are We Having Fun Yet? |
AYPI
|
And Your Point Is? |
| B4 |
Before |
| B4N |
Bye For Now |
| B/F |
Boyfriend |
BBL
|
Be Back Later |
BBIAF
|
Be Back in a Few |
BCNU
|
Be Seein' You |
BEG
|
Big Evil Grin |
BFN
|
Bye For Now |
BG
|
Big Grin |
BIF
|
Basic In Fact |
BRB
|
Be Right Back |
| BTDT |
Been There Done That |
| BTW |
By The Way |
| CLM |
Career Limiting Move |
CM
|
Call Me |
| CR8 |
Create |
| CU |
See You |
CUL8R
|
See You Later (L + eight + r - get it?) |
| DIKU? |
Do I Know You? |
| DQMOT |
Don't Quote Me On This |
| DUR? |
Do You Remember? |
F2F
|
Face To Face |
FUD
|
(Spreading) Fear, Uncertainty, and Disinformation |
FWIW
|
For What It's Worth |
FYA
|
For Your Amusement |
| FYI |
For Your Information |
| G/F |
Girlfriend |
| GA |
Go Ahead |
GAL
|
Get A Life |
GMTA
|
Great Minds Think Alike |
| GSOH |
Good Sense of Humour |
HTH |
Hope This(That) Helps |
IAE |
In Any Event |
| IC |
I See |
ICWUM
|
I See What You Mean |
| IM |
Instant Message |
IMO
|
In My Opinion |
| IMHO |
In My Humble Opinion |
| IMNSHO |
In My Not So Humble Opinion |
| IOW |
In Other Words |
| IRL |
In Real Life |
| J4F |
Just For Fun |
| JK |
Just Kidding |
KISS |
Keep it Short and Simple |
| L8R |
Later |
| LDR |
Long distance relationship (for those people who have never met in person, or have moved and have to Skype each other to keep the flame of romance alive.) |
| LOL |
Laughing Out Loud / Lots of Love |
| LTNS |
Long Time No See |
MOF
|
Male or Female |
MHOTY
|
My Hat's Off To You |
MOTD
|
Message Of The Day |
MTFBWU
|
May The Force Be With You |
NBIF
|
No Basis In Fact |
NFC
|
No Further Comment |
| NP |
No Problem |
NRN
|
No Reply Necessary |
OBO
|
Or Best Offer |
OBTW
|
Oh, By The Way |
OIC
|
Oh, I see |
OOTB
|
Out Of The Box / Out of the Blue |
OTOH
|
On the Other Hand |
| OTT |
Over the Top |
| PC |
Politically Correct |
| pdq |
pretty damn quick |
| PM |
Private Message |
POV
|
Point Of View |
PMFJI
|
Pardon Me For Jumping In |
ROTFL
|
Rolling On The Floor Laughing |
RTM
|
Read The Manual |
SITD
|
Still In The Dark = Still don't understand |
| SMTOE |
Sets My Teeth On Edge = annoys you a lot |
| SNAFU |
Situation normal all effed up |
T+
|
Think Positive |
| TAF |
That's All Folks |
TAFN
|
That's All For Now |
TIA
|
Thanks In Advance |
TIC
|
Tongue In Cheek = say something that appears to be serious, but isn't |
| TGIF |
Thank goodness it's Friday |
TLC
|
Tender Loving Care |
TM2T
|
Too Much To Type |
| TTFN |
Ta Ta For Now |
T2UL
|
Talk To You Later |
TTTT
|
To Tell The Truth |
| TU |
Thank You |
| TUVM |
Thank You Very Much |
TX
|
Thanks |
TYCLO
|
TURN YOUR CAPS LOCK OFF! |
| unPC |
unPolitically Correct |
WB
|
Welcome Back |
WEG
|
Wicked Evil Grin |
WRT
|
With respect to |
WTG
|
Way To Go! |
| WUF? |
Where are You From? |
X!
|
Typical Woman |
Y! |
Typical Man |
| YW |
You're Welcome |
| ZZZZ |
Sleeping / Bored |