acronym.io
Acronym Dictionary
Acronym.io is an online acronym dictionary designed to bring users the most relevant definitions of popular acronyms, abbreviations and initialisms. All terms are thoroughly researched to ensure that users find the definitions that they actually want, not an obscure definition that just two people in the entire world know about. Many of our terms are fairly new, used frequently on social media websites or apps - Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Vine, to name a few - often by younger people and teenagers. We also define a number of older, more well-known acronyms, as well as acronyms and abbreviations used on websites like Reddit, Craigslist and eBay, in the medical fields, in sports, in the tech industry, and that pertain to geographical locations such as airports, cities, or countries.
Categories
- Airports
- Aviation
- Business & Finance
- Countries
- Currencies
- Government
- Healthcare
- Medicine
- Military
- Reporting Marks
- Slang & Hashtags
- States
- Stock Exchange Ticker Symbols
- Technology
Acronyms, Abbreviations, Initialisms: What are the differences?
Abbreviations are shortened forms of words. Acronyms and initialisms are two different types of abbreviations. Acronyms are abbreviations that are pronounced as words. Initialisms are abbreviations that cannot be pronounced as words, and are made up of the first letter of each word (in a group of words).
In short:
- Abbreviations: shortened forms of words
- Acronyms: abbreviations pronounced as words
- Initialisms: abbreviations NOT pronounced as words, AND made up of the first letter of each word
And some examples:
- Abbreviation Example: etc. = etcetera, tom. = tomorrow
- Acronym Example: ASAP = As Soon As Possible
- Initialism Example: ETA = Estimated Time of Arrival
Popular Acronyms
Here are a very few popular acronyms, abbreviations or initialisms that are used in everyday life and are likely already understood by a vast majority of people.