English LanguageStart - Smart Words

What is the difference between Abbreviations and Acronyms?

Abbreviations

An abbreviation (from Latin brevi³re → brevis meaning “short”) is a shortened form of a word or phrase used mainly in writing to represent the complete form. It usually has a full-stop at the end.
Examples: Lib. For Library / abbr. for abbreviation / approx. for approximate

Acronyms

An acronym (from Latin acro- meaning “beginning” + -onym meaning “word, name”) is a pronounceable word formed mostly (but not always) from the initial letters of a descriptive name or title.
Examples: radar = radio detecting and ranging / ASAP = as soon as possible

The term initialism uses a similar method, but the word is pronounced letter by letter. Example: BBC British Broadcasting Corporation or USA United States of America.
And last but not least, there are symbols and/or units of reference, like min for minute or kg for kilogram.

50 Popular Internet Acronyms

The Language of the Internet - Acronyms

The Language of Internet: the following is a list of some common acronyms that are used on the web, in E-Mails,... . The list is far from being complete, it just contains the abbreviations (new Slang / shorthands), which I consider most useful. And they should help to better understand the meaning of text centered messages. The acronyms / abbreviations are mostly written in upper case.

Usage & Meaning

Not all of these short-hands can be assumed to be understood by the majorities of Internet or E-Mail users. However, there are some exceptions, which are fairly safe to use:

2 4 B C I O R U Y
to / too for be see eye owe are you why

The reason is that these abbreviations are based on the pronunciation of their corresponding letter / digit.

List of Internet Acronyms

Please note: An acronym (from Greek: -acro = sharp, pointed; -onym = name) in its pure form denotes a combination of letters (usually from an abbreviation) which can be used and pronounced as a word. For the sake of clarity and readability, this definition is not always followed within the 2 lists on this page.

Acronyms A to L
2F4UToo Fast For You
4YEO FYEOFor Your Eyes Only
AAMOFAs a Matter of Fact
ACKAcknowledgment
AFAIKAs far as I know
AFAIRAs far as I remember / recall
AFKAway from Keyboard
AKAAlso known as
B2K BTKBack to Keyboard
BTTBack to Topic
BTWBy the Way
B/CBecause
C&PCopy and Paste
CUSee you
CYSCheck your Settings
DIYDo it Yourself
EOBDEnd of Business Day
EODEnd of Discussion
EOMEnd of Message
EOTEnd of Thread / .. Text / .. Transmission
FAQFrequently asked Questions
FACKFull Acknowledge
FKAFormerly known as
FWIWFor what it's Worth
FYI / JFYI(Just) For your Information
FTWFuck the World / For the Win
HFHave fun
HTHHope this Helps
IDKI don't know
IIRCIf I Recall / Remember Correctly
IMHOIn my Humble Opinion
IMOIn my Opinion
IMNSHOIn my not so Humble / Honest Opinion
IOWIn other Words
ITTIn this Thread
LOLLaughing out loud
DGMWDon't get me wrong
Acronyms M to Z
MMWMark my Words
N/ANot Available / Applicable
NaNNot a Number
NNTRNo need to Reply
noob n00bNewbie
NOYBNone of your Business
NRNNo Reply Necessary
OMGOh my God
OPOriginal Poster, Original Post
OTOff Topic
OTOHOn the other Hand
PEBKACProblem exists between Keyboard and Chair
POVPoint of View
ROTFLRolling on the Floor Laughing
RSVPRepondez s'il vous plait (French: Please reply)
RTFMRead the fine Manual
SCNRSorry, could not Resist
SFLRSorry, for late Reply
SPOCSingle Point of Contact
TBATo be Announced
TBCTo be Continued / To be Confirmed
TIAThanks in Advance
TGIFThanks God, its Friday
THX TNXThanks
TQThank You
TYVMThank You Very Much
TYTTake your Time
TTYLTalk to you Later
w00tWhoomp, there it is; Meaning "Hooray"
WFMWorks for Me
WRTWith Regard to
WTHWhat the Hell / What the Heck
WTFWhat the Fuck
YMMDYou made my Day
YMMVYour Mileage may vary
YAMYet Another Meeting
ICYMIIn Case you missed it

50 Text Messaging (Short Message Service (=SMS)) and WhatsApp Abbreviations

Short Messages: SMS, WhatsApp, Chat - Abbreviations

If you are a newbie to the Internet or texting on your mobile phone you easily get confused by all the abbreviations, text shortcuts and acronyms used by more experienced users. To help you out, this list contains a compilation of the 50 most common abbreviations utilized in text messages, IMs (= Instant Message), social networks, etc, where people want (or are required) to use only a few typed characters to communicate a thought or an idea .


Please note: even though the acronyms below are written in ALL CAPS, it is not mandatory to use the capital letters, and most people tend to mix upper- and lowercase depending on personal taste. To use caps for the acronyms themselves is generally not considered poor netiquette; however, writing whole words or sentences in ALL CAPS is usually read as "shouting", and thus easily considered offensive.

List of Text Messaging & SMS Abbreviations

Abbreviations A to L
2moro Tomorrow
2nteTonight
AEAPAs Early as Possible
ALAPAs Late as Possible
ASAPAs Soon as Possible
ASLAge / Sex / Location?
B3Blah, Blah, Blah
B4YKIBefore You Know it
BFFBest Friends, Forever
BM&YBetween Me and You
BRBBe right Back
BRTBe right There
BTAMBe that as it May
C-PSleepy
CTNCannot talk now
CUSSee You Soon
CWOTComplete Waste of Time
CYTSee You Tomorrow
E123Easy as 1, 2, 3
EM?Excuse Me?
EODEnd of Day
F2FFace to Face
FCFingers Crossed
FOAFFriend of a Friend
GR8 Great
HAKHugs and Kisses
IDCI Don't Care
IDKI Don't Know
ILU / ILYI Love You
IMUI Miss You
IRLIn Real Life
J/K Just Kidding
JCJust Checking
JTLYKJust to Let You Know
KFYKiss for You
KMNKill Me Now
KPCKeeping Parents Clueless
L8R Later
Abbreviations M to Z
MoFMale or Female
MTFBWYMay the Force be with You
MYOBMind Your Own Business
N-A-Y-LIn a While
NAZName, Address, ZIP
NCNo Comment
NIMBYNot in my Backyard
NMNever Mind / Nothing Much
NPNo Problem
NSFWNot Safe for Work
NTIMNot that it Matters
NVMNever Mind
OATUSOn a totally Unrelated Subject
OICOh, I See
OMWOn My Way
OTLOut to Lunch
OTPOn the Phone
P911Parent Alert
PALParents are Listening
PAWParents are Watching
PIRParent in Room
POSParent over Shoulder
PROP(S)Proper Respect / Proper Recognition
QTCutie
RNRight Now
RUAre You
SEPSomeone else's Problem
SITDStill in the Dark
SLAPSounds like a Plan
SMIMSend Me an Instant Message
SOSignificant Other
TMIToo Much Information
URYour / You are
W8Wait
WBWelcome Back
WYCMWill You Call Me?
WYWHWish You Were Here
XOXOXOXHugs, Kisses, ...