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. ADDucation’s acronyms list A-Z includes examples of acronyms which have become so popular that the original abbreviation, Latin or wordplay is often forgotten.
- ADDucation’s acronyms list was last updated 18 Aug 2024
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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 |
See also: World Languages…
ADDucation Safe for Work Famous Quotes About Acronyms:
The World Wide Web is the only thing I know of whose shortened form takes three times longer to say than what it’s short for– Douglas Adams in The Independent on Sunday, 1999
ADDucation’s acronyms list slang covers the basics but acronymfinder.com is a dictionary style website devoted to obscure and specialized acronyms, abbreviations and urban slang.
ADDucation Acronyms List Related Pages
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- Share your cool acronyms and abbreviations. We’ll add the best acronyms to ADDucation’s acronyms list…
