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List of Common Acronyms - YourDictionary

The document defines and provides examples of common acronyms, initialisms, and abbreviations used in various contexts such as pop culture, chat, military, business, and as identifiers. It explains the differences between acronyms and initialisms and provides lists of examples for each category.

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Anupam Naskar
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20 views13 pages

List of Common Acronyms - YourDictionary

The document defines and provides examples of common acronyms, initialisms, and abbreviations used in various contexts such as pop culture, chat, military, business, and as identifiers. It explains the differences between acronyms and initialisms and provides lists of examples for each category.

Uploaded by

Anupam Naskar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Abbreviations

List of Common Acronyms


By Michele Meleen, M.S.Ed., Staff Editor

Image Credits

Acronyms, abbreviations and initialisms, oh my! From text messages to in-person


convos, we all use shorthand every day. But is your shortened way of expressing an idea
an acronym? It depends on how you say it. Acronyms are formed by using the first letter
of each word in a phrase to form a new word. For example, “you only live once” is
shortened to the acronym YOLO, which you’d say as “yoh-loh.”

Common Acronyms in Pop Culture


You may not even realize that your favorite TV show, movie character or musician is
using an acronym as their name!

ABBA (musical group) - Agnetha, Björn, Benny, Anni-Frid (first names of the band’s
members)

BUMP (slang) - Bring Up My Post

HER (musician) - Having Everything Revealed

NERD (musical group) - No one Ever Really Dies

SHIELD (TV show) - Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics


Division

WALL-E (animated character) - Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class

YAHOO (search engine) - Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle

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Common Acronyms in Chat
Whether you’re DMing, texting or chatting in your favorite video game, acronyms are the
key to keeping these messages quick and concise. These are the acronyms you probably
use or read on the daily.

ASAP - As Soon As Possible

BAE - Before Anyone Else

BOLO - Be On the LookOut

FISH - First In, Still Here

FOMO - Fear Of Missing Out

GIF - Graphics Interchange Format (but is it “jif” or “gif”?)

LOL - Laughing Out Loud (some people pronounce this as “lahl”)

YOLO - You Only Live Once

Common Initialisms in Chat


There is a bit of debate about whether initialisms are acronyms or if acronyms and
initialisms are both just types of abbreviations. An initialism is an abbreviation that uses
the first letter of each word in the phrase it’s describing (like an acronym), but you still
say each letter of the initialism individually (unlike an acronym). For example, the Federal
Bureau of Investigations is shortened to FBI, but you say it as “eff-bee-eye,” not “fbi.”

If you’re on the team that considers initialisms as a type of acronym, these are some
common initialism examples:

AFK - Away From Keyboard

BBL - Be Back Later


BBS - Be Back Soon

BEG - Big Evil Grin

BRB - Be Right Back

BTW - By The Way

EG - Evil Grin

IDK - I Don't Know

IMO - In My Opinion

IRL - In Real Life

LMK - Let Me Know

NOYB - None of Your Business

OMG - Oh My God

POS - Parents Over Shoulder

ROFL - Rolling On the Floor Laughing

SMH - Shaking My Head

TTYL - Talk To You Later

WTH - What The Heck (or Hell)

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Common Acronyms in the Military and Government
Listening to conversations in a government or official settings can be a bit like hearing a
new language for the first time. Get in-the-know with common acronyms used in
government and military settings.

AWOL - Absent WithOut Leave

FUBAR - F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition

OSHA - Occupational Safety and Health Administration

NAFTA - North American Free Trade Agreement

NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Navy SEALs - Navy Sea Air Land forces

POTUS - President of the United States

SCOTUS - Supreme Court of the United States

SWAT - Special Weapons And Tactics

Common Initialisms in the Military and Government


You won’t often hear these initialisms spoken as new words, even if some appear to
spell out a new word.

CIA - Central Intelligence Agency

CPS - Child Protective Services

CSI - Crime Scene Investigation

DMV - Division of Motor Vehicles

DNC - Democratic National Committee

DOD - Department of Defense

DON - Department of the Navy

DZ - Drop Zone

FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation

GIB - GI Bill

MIA - Missing In Action

POW - Prisoner Of War

RNC - Republican National Committee

REAP - Reserve Education Assistance Program

UN - United Nations

USAF - United States Air Force

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Common Informative Acronyms
Acronyms are a useful way to convey essential information quickly, but only if you know
what they mean. Informative acronyms are commonly used in the medical field but have
also crossed over from industries into daily life.

AIDS - Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

DARE - Drug Abuse Resistance Education

PEMDAS - Parentheses, Exponent, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction


(math order of operations)

RADAR - Radio Detection And Ranging

SONAR - Sound Navigation And Ranging

ZIP code - Zone Improvement Plan code

Common Informative Initialisms

These abbreviations help quickly describe useful groups, items and actions.
ABS - Anti-lock Braking System

ADD - Attention Deficit Disorder

ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

AMA - Against Medical Advice

CDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

DOA - Dead On Arrival

DOB - Date Of Birth

DIY - Do It Yourself

ESL - English As A Second Language

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

HIV - Human Immunodeficiency Virus

IQ - Intelligence Quotient

MD - Medical Doctor

OTC - Over The Counter

PPV - Pay Per View

PS - Post Script

SUV - Sports Utility Vehicle

UFO - Unidentified Flying Object

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Common Acronyms in Business
Acronyms are often used in the business world to identify a business or to create
shorthand communication between co-workers.

CAPTCHA - Completely Automated Public Turing Test (to tell Computers and
Humans Apart)

DAEMON - Disk And Execution Monitor

KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid

NASDAQ - National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations

SWOT - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

SMART Goals - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound Goals

TED - Tell me, Explain to me, Describe to me

Common Initialisms in Business


Business people often speak in initialisms once they’re comfortable with the industry
lingo.

ADP - Automated Data Processing

AKA - Also Known As

CDT - Central Daylight Time

CST - Central Standard Time

DBA - Doing Business As

DND - Do Not Disturb

EDS - Electronic Data Systems

EOD - End of Day

EOW - End of Week

EDT - Eastern Daylight Time

EST - Eastern Standard Time

ETA - Estimated Time of Arrival

FYI - For Your Information

HR - Human Resources

MBA - Masters of Business Administration

MDT - Mountain Daylight Time

MST - Mountain Standard Time

POS - Point Of Service

PR - Public Relations

PDT - Pacific Daylight Time

PST - Pacific Standard Time


TBA - To Be Announced

TBD - To Be Determined

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Common Acronyms as Identifiers


Some acronyms identify an organization or person by shortening a long name into a
pronounced acronym. Explore these common identifiers for organizations and dating.

FLAG – Foreign Language Association of Georgia

MADD – Mothers Against Drunk Driving


PAWS – Progressive Animal Welfare Society

PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

Common Initialisms and Identifiers


Although it’s not unheard of for people to pronounce AARP as “arp” these days, these
initialisms aren’t true acronyms — yet.

AA – Alcoholics Anonymous

AARP – American Association of Retired Persons

ADA – American Dental Association

AFL – American Football League

AMA – American Medical Association

APA – American Psychological Association

ESPN – Entertainment and Sports Programming Network

LDR - Long Distance Relationship

MLA – Modern Language Association

MOTOS - Member Of The Opposite Sex

MOTSS - Member Of The Same Sex

NBA – National Basketball Association

NFL – National Football League

NHL – National Hockey League

PGA – Professional Golfer’s Association

SPCA – Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

SO - Significant Other

SWF – Single White Female


SWM – Single White Male

WWE – World Wrestling Entertainment

Speak in Shorthand
Abbreviations, acronyms and initialisms are all fair game for becoming new words
thanks to the anything-goes attitude of today’s wordsmiths. Who knows — you might
even invent an acronym that becomes commonplace years from now.

Funny Acronyms

What Do POTUS, FLOTUS and SCOTUS Mean?

What Is PEMDAS? Order of Operations Rules in Simple Terms

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