Dictionary and style-guide editors are not in universal agreement on the naming for such abbreviations, and it is a matter of some dispute whether the term acronym can be legitimately applied to abbreviations which are not pronounced 'as words', nor do these language authorities agree on the correct use of spacing, casing, and punctuation.Ībbreviations formed from a string of initials and usually pronounced as individual letters are sometimes more specifically called initialisms or alphabetisms examples are FBI from Federal Bureau of Investigation, and e.g. The broader sense of acronym-the meaning of which includes terms pronounced as letters-is sometimes criticized, but it is the term's original meaning and is in common use. They can also be a mixture, as in radar ( RAdio Detection And Ranging).Īcronyms can be pronounced as words, like NASA and UNESCO as individual letters, like FBI, TNT, and ATM or as both letters and words, like JPEG (pronounced JAY-peg) and IUPAC. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in NATO ( North Atlantic Treaty Organization), but sometimes use syllables, as in Benelux (short for Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg). NATO’s foreign policy has been criticised recently.For the use of acronyms on Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Acronyms.Īn acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. We use some acronyms in the plural or possessive :Īre the pictures on your memory stick jpegs or bitmaps? (compact disc read-only memory pronounced /si: di: ˈrɒm/) (joint photographic experts group /ˈdʒeɪpeg/) She sent me a jpeg file with a photo of her wedding. Some acronyms are pronounced as a combination of letters and syllables: Radar was one of the most important inventions of the twentieth century. The ship’s radar had been destroyed in battle. Where the acronym has existed for a long time and become fully established in the language, it is written with small letters (or with one capital letter if it is at the beginning of a sentence): Jodie’s got her SATs next week – she’s a bit nervous.

Newer acronyms are written with capital letters :

SATs /sæts/ standard attainment tests (tests taken by schoolchildren in the UK) Radar /ˈreɪdɑ(r)/ radio detection and ranging

Scuba /ˈsku:bə/ self-contained underwater breathing apparatus NATO /ˈneɪtəʊ/ North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Acronyms are words which are formed from the first letters of other words, and which are pronounced as full words.

Abbreviations for words online