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 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 |
2F4U | Too Fast For You |
4YEO FYEO | For Your Eyes Only |
| |
AAMOF | As a Matter of Fact |
ACK | Acknowledgment |
AFAIK | As far as I know |
AFAIR | As far as I remember / recall |
AFK | Away from Keyboard |
AKA | Also known as |
| |
B2K BTK | Back to Keyboard |
BTT | Back to Topic |
BTW | By the Way |
B/C | Because |
| |
C&P | Copy and Paste |
CU | See you |
CYS | Check your Settings |
| |
DIY | Do it Yourself |
| |
EOBD | End of Business Day |
EOD | End of Discussion |
EOM | End of Message |
EOT | End of Thread / .. Text / .. Transmission |
| |
FAQ | Frequently asked Questions |
FACK | Full Acknowledge |
FKA | Formerly known as |
FWIW | For what it's Worth |
FYI / JFYI | (Just) For your Information |
FTW | Fuck the World / For the Win |
| |
HF | Have fun |
HTH | Hope this Helps |
| |
IDK | I don't know |
IIRC | If I Recall / Remember Correctly |
IMHO | In my Humble Opinion |
IMO | In my Opinion |
IMNSHO | In my not so Humble / Honest Opinion |
IOW | In other Words |
ITT | In this Thread |
| |
LOL | Laughing out loud |
DGMW | Don't get me wrong |
| |
|
Acronyms M to Z |
MMW | Mark my Words |
| |
N/A | Not Available / Applicable |
NaN | Not a Number |
NNTR | No need to Reply |
noob n00b | Newbie |
NOYB | None of your Business |
NRN | No Reply Necessary |
| |
OMG | Oh my God |
OP | Original Poster, Original Post |
OT | Off Topic |
OTOH | On the other Hand |
| |
PEBKAC | Problem exists between Keyboard and Chair |
POV | Point of View |
| |
ROTFL | Rolling on the Floor Laughing |
RSVP | Repondez s'il vous plait (French: Please reply) |
RTFM | Read the fine Manual |
| |
SCNR | Sorry, could not Resist |
SFLR | Sorry, for late Reply |
SPOC | Single Point of Contact |
| |
| |
TBA | To be Announced |
TBC | To be Continued / To be Confirmed |
TIA | Thanks in Advance |
TGIF | Thanks God, its Friday |
THX TNX | Thanks |
TQ | Thank You |
TYVM | Thank You Very Much |
TYT | Take your Time |
TTYL | Talk to you Later |
| |
w00t | Whoomp, there it is; Meaning "Hooray" |
WFM | Works for Me |
WRT | With Regard to |
WTH | What the Hell / What the Heck |
WTF | What the Fuck |
| |
YMMD | You made my Day |
YMMV | Your Mileage may vary |
YAM | Yet Another Meeting |
ICYMI | In Case you missed it |
| |
|
50 Text Messaging (Short Message Service (=SMS)) and WhatsApp 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 |
2nte | Tonight |
| |
AEAP | As Early as Possible |
ALAP | As Late as Possible |
ASAP | As Soon as Possible |
ASL | Age / Sex / Location? |
| |
B3 | Blah, Blah, Blah |
B4YKI | Before You Know it |
BFF | Best Friends, Forever |
BM&Y | Between Me and You |
BRB | Be right Back |
BRT | Be right There |
BTAM | Be that as it May |
| |
C-P | Sleepy |
CTN | Cannot talk now |
CUS | See You Soon |
CWOT | Complete Waste of Time |
CYT | See You Tomorrow |
| |
E123 | Easy as 1, 2, 3 |
EM? | Excuse Me? |
EOD | End of Day |
| |
F2F | Face to Face |
FC | Fingers Crossed |
FOAF | Friend of a Friend |
| |
GR8 | Great |
| |
HAK | Hugs and Kisses |
| |
IDC | I Don't Care |
IDK | I Don't Know |
ILU / ILY | I Love You |
IMU | I Miss You |
IRL | In Real Life |
| |
J/K | Just Kidding |
JC | Just Checking |
JTLYK | Just to Let You Know |
| |
KFY | Kiss for You |
KMN | Kill Me Now |
KPC | Keeping Parents Clueless |
| |
L8R | Later |
| |
|
Abbreviations M to Z |
MoF | Male or Female |
MTFBWY | May the Force be with You |
MYOB | Mind Your Own Business |
| |
N-A-Y-L | In a While |
NAZ | Name, Address, ZIP |
NC | No Comment |
NIMBY | Not in my Backyard |
NM | Never Mind / Nothing Much |
NP | No Problem |
NSFW | Not Safe for Work |
NTIM | Not that it Matters |
NVM | Never Mind |
| |
OATUS | On a totally Unrelated Subject |
OIC | Oh, I See |
OMW | On My Way |
OTL | Out to Lunch |
OTP | On the Phone |
| |
P911 | Parent Alert |
PAL | Parents are Listening |
PAW | Parents are Watching |
PIR | Parent in Room |
POS | Parent over Shoulder |
PROP(S) | Proper Respect / Proper Recognition |
| |
QT | Cutie |
| |
RN | Right Now |
RU | Are You |
| |
| |
SEP | Someone else's Problem |
SITD | Still in the Dark |
SLAP | Sounds like a Plan |
SMIM | Send Me an Instant Message |
SO | Significant Other |
| |
TMI | Too Much Information |
| |
UR | Your / You are |
| |
W8 | Wait |
WB | Welcome Back |
WYCM | Will You Call Me? |
WYWH | Wish You Were Here |
| |
XOXOXOX | Hugs, Kisses, ... |
| |
|