Acronyms List A-Z
Includes Popular Abbreviations, Initialisms & Wordplay

Generally acronyms are a shorter and convenient way to abbreviate words by taking the first letter of each word to form the acronym. Acronyms are commonly used to create memorable names for brands, organizations and groups of people who regularly use the same phrases – like the military. Acronyms are only useful when everyone understands (or doesn’t need to understand) what they stand for otherwise it’s jargon.

Key: An ^[1]initialism is an acronym where the letters, which form the abbreviation, are pronounced as letters. For example FYI.

Acronyms	Abbreviation / Stands For / Trivia, Explanations and Origins…	Category / tags	[1]Initialism	Brand?	Usage
3M	3 Ms origin is: Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company.	wordplay	initialism
A.D.	From Latin anno domini – “in the year of the Lord”.	latin	initialism
a.m.	From Latin ante meridiem – “before midday”.	latin	initialism
Adidas	Originated from the name of the Adidas sportswear founder Adi Dassler, the younger brother of Rudolf Dassler who founded the Puma sportswear brand. Adidas is pronounced AH-dee-duss.	wordplay		brand
AEG	From the German “Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft“, the literal translation being General Electric Company.	abbreviation	Initialism	brand
ALDI	From the name of founders Albrecht + Discount.	wordplay		brand
AMD	Advanced Micro Devices.	abbreviation	initialism	brand
AMPAS	American Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Also known as “the Academy” or “Motion Picture Academy” famous for its annual Academy Awards “The Oscars”.	abbreviation	initialism
ARAL	From Aromatics and Aliphatics (two gasoline components).	wordplay		brand
ASAP	As Soon As Possible.	abbreviation, business acronym	sometimes		sometimes used as a word
ASDA	Derived abbreviation of Asquith supermarkets and Associated Dairies following their merger in 1965.	abbreviation		brand
Audi	Latin translation of the German company founder’s name Horch (hark, as in listen).	latin
AWOL	Absent Without Official Leave or Absent Without Leave – commonly used in the military.	abbreviation, acronym
BAFTA	The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an arts charity. It holds separate annual awards ceremonies, called “the BAFTAs” for film and TV to reward  best works, of any nationality, in the previous year.	abbreviation, acronym	initialism		used as a word
BASE	BASE jumping, stands for Building, Antenna, Span, and Earth jumping.	abbreviation, acronym	initialism		used as a word
BASF	From the German company Badische Anilin und Soda Fabriken (Baden Aniline and Soda Factory).	Abbreviation	sometimes	brand
BBC	British Broadcasting Corporation.	abbreviation, acronym	initialism	brand
BMW	Bayerische Motoren Werke (Bavarian Motor Works).	abbreviation, motoring acronym	initialism	brand
BPM	Beats Per Minute, music terminology, denoting the number of beats in 60 seconds.	abbreviation, music acronym	initialism
BRIC	Brazil, Russia, India, China, a grouping acronym, commonly used in economics: the BRIC countries, aka “Big Four”.	abbreviation, economics acronym	no
CARE	CARE packages provided food across Europe after World War II distributed by the Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere.	abbreviation, acronym			used as a word
C&A	Initials of the clothing shop founders Clemens & August Brenninkmeijer.	wordplay	initialism	brand
CV	Resumé – from the latin curriculum vitae (“course of life”).	latin	initialism
DIN	Deutsche Industrie Norm, the German standards organization which has been mostly replaced by ISO.	abbreviation, acronym
DIY	Do It Yourself – Home improvement, more recently trending: GSI – Get Someone In.	abbreviation, acronym	initialism
DOA	Dead On Arrival OR Dead Or Alive – also a popular TV crime series.	abbreviation
E-FIT	Isn’t an acronym for photofit but the name of the computer program Electronic Facial Identification Technique which generates composite pictures of police suspects.	abbreviation, acronym			used as a word
e.g.	From the Latin exempli gratia meaning for example. One of the most commonly used latin abbreviations in our acronyms list for students.	latin	initialism
EMI	Electric and Musical Industries. Launched 1931 at Abbey Studios and broke up in 2012. EMI Records was the Beatles record label until 1968 when they formed Apple Records.	abbreviation, acronym	initialism	brand
ESA	European Space Agency.	abbreviation	sometimes
ESP	Extrasensory Perception in parapsychology, Electronic Stability Program in motoring, 3 character token for Espana (Spain).	abbreviation	initialism
EU	The European Union, check out our dedicated list of EU Acronyms and jargon…	abbreviation	initialism
FAQ / FAQs	Frequently Asked Question/s is one of the most popular initialisms in our acronyms list. Widely used in conjunction with Q&A.	abbreviation	initialism
FODMAP	Fermentable Oligo-, Di-, Mono-saccharides And Polyols. Acronym for short chain carbohydrates which can cause digestive problems and IBS which is also in this acronyms list.	abbreviation	initialism
FYI	For Your Information this is an acronyms list!	abbreviation	initialism
GDPR	General Data Protection Regulation, 2018 EU data privacy law.	abbreviation	initialism
Gestapo	Acronym for the Geheime Staatspolizei (which means “secret state police”) formed in Germany in 1933.	abbreviation, acronym			used as a word
GK	General Knowledge, often written in lowercase: gk.	abbreviation
H&M	Named after the Swedish founders of clothing chain Hennes & Mauritz.	abbreviation	initialism	brand
Haribo	From the founder’s name Hans Riegel (of) Bonn.	abbreviation, acronym		brand
HP / BHP	Horse Power and Brake Horse Power – often used with car engines. HP sauce (Houses of Parliament sauce) is popular in the UK.	abbreviation	initialism
HTTP / HTTPS	HyperText Transfer Protocol (Secure),  http is a communications protocol to display webpages in web browsers. The https protocol adds encryption for secure server to browser communication – look for the green padlock in your browser.	abbreviation	initialism
i.e.	id est – Latin for that is.	latin	initialism	brand
IBM	International Business Machines.	abbreviation, acronym	initialism
IBS	Irritable Bowel  Syndrome. General term for symptoms including abdominal pain and changes to normal pattern of bowel movements.	abbreviation, acronym	initialism
IKEA	Founder’s initials Ingvar Kamprad and Elmtaryd Agunnaryd – the place he grew up.	abbreviation, acronym		brand
INRI	Iesus Nazarene Rex Iudaeorum (Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews).	latin
IOC	International Olympic Committee.	abbreviation, Acronym	initialism
ISBN	International Standard Book Number.	abbreviation, acronym	initialism
ISO	International Organization for Standardization / International Standards Organization.	abbreviation, acronym
JVC	Japan Victor Company.	abbreviation	initialism	brand
Laser	Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. The invention of lasers led to the first CD discs, laser printers, laser surgery and more.	abbreviation, acronym			used as a word
Lego	Abbreviation of Danish for “play well” (Leg godt).	abbreviation, acronym		brand
LHC	Large Hadron Collider (27 km long particle accelerator at CERN in Geneva).	abbreviation
LOL	Text speak chat acronym of “Laughing Out Loud” or less commonly “Lots Of Love”. One of the most commonly used chat abbreviations in our acronyms list.	chat
MBA	Master of Business Administration.	abbreviation	initialism
N.B.	From the Latin nota bene – note well.	latin	initialism
NASA	National Aeronautics and Space Administration.	abbreviation, acronym
NIMBY	Not In My Back Yard.	abbreviation, acronym
NSA	National Security Agency in the USA.	abbreviation	initialism
OEEC	Organization for European Economic Cooperation.	abbreviation	initialism
OMG	Text speak chat acronym of Oh My God, used to express disbelief, surprise or excitement.	chat	initialism
OHCHR	Office of the High Commissioner Human Rights.	abbreviation	initialism
PDA	Personal Digital Assistant, that has fallen into disuse since cellphones/mobiles became commonplace.	abbreviation	initialism
p.m.	From the Latin post meridiem (“after midday”).	latin	initialism
P.S.	post scriptum = “after written”. One of the most commonly used latin abbreviations in this acronyms list.	latin	initialism
Q&A	Questions and Answers. Q&A format is commonly used in website FAQs. “Question and answer” sessions, between a speaker or panel and an audience remains a popular way to exchange information and opinions. One of the most commonly used abbreviations in our acronyms list.	abbreviation	initialism
Qantas	From Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services. Qantas is an Australian airline.	abbreviation, acronym		brand
QED	Quod Erat Demonstrandum. Latin for “what was to be proved” by Euclid.	latin	initialism
QVC	Quality, Value and Convenience. A TV shopping channel.	abbreviation	initialism
R.I.P.	From the Latin requiescat in pace (rest in peace).	latin	initialism
Radar	Radio Detection and Ranging (radio location and distance measurement).	abbreviation, acronym			used as a word
RAM	Random Access Memory. Memory chips in computers.	abbreviation
RSVP	Répondez s‘il vous plaît (French for please reply). Traditional on party and wedding invitations. One of only a few french acronyms and abbreviations in this acronyms list.	French abbreviation and acronym	initialism		used as a word
SCUBA	Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.	abbreviation, acronym
SMS	Short Message Service – Text messages via mobile/cell phones.	abbreviation, acronym	initialism
S.P.Q.R.	Senatus Populusque Romanum. Inscription on Roman coats of arms which means “The Senate and People of Rome.”	latin	initialism
SWAT	Special Weapons and Tactics. Typically specially trained teams within a Police force.	abbreviation, acronym			used as a word
Tchibo	Named after founder Carl Tchilinghiryan and the German word for beans: “Bohnen” (coffee beans in this case).	wordplay		brand
Tesco	Founder Jack Cohen bought a shipment of tea from a T. E. Stockwell He combined the initials and letters to form TES-CO.	wordplay		brand
TLA	Three letter acronym for Three Letter Acronyms, there are 2, 4, 5 and longer acronyms but they don’t have acronyms.	abbreviation, acronym	initialism
UFO	Unidentified Flying Object, Edward J. Ruppelt came up with this acronym which he pronounced “Yoo-fo” to replace “flying saucers”. Oddly (for an acronym) most people still  pronounce it  “U-F-O”.	abbreviation, acronym	sometimes
UN	United Nations, formed by 51 nations on 24th October 1945, after World War II, to help maintain world peace. Effectively replaced the earlier League of Nations (LN).	abbreviation	initialism
UNESCO	United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization aims to improve education worldwide by building schools, supplying equipment and training teachers.	abbreviation, acronym	initialism
UNEP	United Nations Environment Programme, UN agency to coordinate environmental activities.	abbreviation	sometimes
UNFPA	United Nations Population Fund, UN agency to help ensure every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.	abbreviation
UNICEF	United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund aka United Nations Children’s Fund.	abbreviation, acronym	initialism
UNSG	United Nations Secretary-General.	abbreviation	initialism
URL	Uniform Resource Locator more commonly referred to as a “web address”.	abbreviation	initialism
Volvo	From Latin meaning: I roll.	latin		brand
VW	From the German Volkswagen literally meaning people’s car. One of the best known initialisms in our acronyms list.	wordplay	initialism	brand
WHO	World Health Organization, a UN specialized agency for international public health dedicated to the attainment by all people of the highest possible level of health including monitoring and helping co-ordinate global pandemics.	abbreviation, acronym	initialism
www	World Wide Web. Prefix for website addresses (see also URL) which is often implied, or no longer needed, to reach a website. Oddly saying “double u, double u, double u” takes longer to pronounce than “world wide web”.	abbreviation, acronym, internet	initialism
YKK	Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha (Yoshida Company Limited) – check out the make of your zip fasteners! (zips, zippers).	abbreviation, acronym	initialism	brand