English abbreviates massively, from texting between friends to medical reports, including professional emails and the names of international organizations. This guide brings together 120 common English abbreviations, classified by context of use, with their full form, their translation, and reference points to avoid the most frequent errors.
Everyday Life
| Abbreviation | Full Meaning | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| AC | Air Conditioning | Air conditioning |
| AKA | Also Known As | Alias, otherwise known as |
| ATM | Automated Teller Machine | Cash machine |
| BYOB | Bring Your Own Bottle | Bring your own drink |
| DIY | Do It Yourself | Do-it-yourself, home improvement |
| ID | Identification | ID card, identification |
| Xmas | Christmas | Christmas |
| YOLO | You Only Live Once | You only live once |
| VIP | Very Important Person | Very important person |
| SOS | Save Our Souls | Distress signal |
| DOB | Date Of Birth | Date of birth |
| GTG | Got To Go | I have to go |
| NVM | Never Mind | Forget it |
ATM refers to the cash machine, but is also used in chat for at the moment (“for now”). The meaning is deduced from context: I’m busy ATM. (I’m busy right now.)
Texting and Social Media
| Abbreviation | Full Meaning | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| LOL | Laughing Out Loud | Laughing out loud |
| BRB | Be Right Back | I’ll be right back |
| IDK | I Don’t Know | I don’t know |
| IMO | In My Opinion | In my opinion |
| IMHO | In My Humble Opinion | In my humble opinion |
| OMG | Oh My God | Oh my God |
| TBH | To Be Honest | To be honest |
| BTW | By The Way | By the way |
| JK | Just Kidding | Just kidding |
| TTYL | Talk To You Later | Talk to you later |
| AFK | Away From Keyboard | Away from keyboard |
| IIRC | If I Remember Correctly | If I remember correctly |
| IRL | In Real Life | In real life |
| ICYMI | In Case You Missed It | In case you missed it |
| TBT | Throwback Thursday | Throwback Thursday |
| FOMO | Fear Of Missing Out | Fear of missing out |
| AMA | Ask Me Anything | Ask me anything |
| NSFW | Not Safe For Work | Not safe for work |
| RT | Retweet | Retweet |
| ROFL | Rolling On the Floor Laughing | Rolling on the floor laughing |
| SMH | Shaking My Head | Shaking my head (in disbelief) |
| TIL | Today I Learned | Today I learned |
| TGIF | Thank God It’s Friday | Thank God it’s Friday! |
| DM | Direct Message | Private message |
| GOAT | Greatest Of All Time | The greatest of all time |
| TL;DR | Too Long; Didn’t Read | Summary of a text that is too long |
| LMK | Let Me Know | Let me know |
| THX | Thanks | Thanks |
Time References
| Abbreviation | Full Meaning | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| a.m. | ante meridiem | before noon (midnight to noon) |
| p.m. | post meridiem | after noon (noon to midnight) |
| AD | Anno Domini | after Christ |
| BC | Before Christ | before Christ |
| ETA | Estimated Time of Arrival | Estimated time of arrival |
| ASAP | As Soon As Possible | As soon as possible |
| TBA | To Be Announced | To be announced later |
| TBD | To Be Determined | To be determined |
Email and the Professional World
| Abbreviation | Full Meaning | Translation / Usage |
|---|---|---|
| FYI | For Your Information | For your information |
| FYR | For Your Reference | For your reference (to keep) |
| EOD | End Of Day | By the end of the day |
| EOW | End Of Week | By the end of the week |
| EOM | End Of Month | By the end of the month |
| COB | Close Of Business | At the close of business |
| OOO | Out Of Office | Out of the office |
| PTO | Paid Time Off | Paid leave |
| DND | Do Not Disturb | Do not disturb |
| WIP | Work In Progress | Work in progress |
| KPI | Key Performance Indicator | Key performance indicator |
| ROI | Return On Investment | Return on investment |
| MVP | Minimum Viable Product | Minimum viable product |
| VAT | Value Added Tax | VAT |
| LTD | Limited Company | Limited company |
| B2B | Business to Business | Between businesses |
| B2C | Business to Consumer | From business to consumer |
| CEO | Chief Executive Officer | Chief Executive Officer |
| CFO | Chief Financial Officer | Chief Financial Officer |
| CTO | Chief Technology Officer | Chief Technology Officer |
| HR | Human Resources | Human Resources |
| PR | Public Relations | Public Relations |
| NDA | Non-Disclosure Agreement | Confidentiality agreement |
| RSVP | Répondez s’il vous plaît (borrowed from French) | Please respond |
| FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions | Frequently Asked Questions |
| BR | Best Regards | Best regards (email closing) |
| Q1-Q4 | Quarter 1 to Quarter 4 | 1st to 4th quarter of the year |
Could you send the report by EOD? I’ll be OOO on Friday, so please loop in the team on the WIP doc. → Could you send the report by the end of the day? I’ll be out of the office on Friday, please inform the team about the document in progress.
Mail, Addresses, and Titles
| Abbreviation | Full Meaning | Translation / Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. | Mister | Mister |
| Mrs. | Missus | Mrs. (married) |
| Ms. | (no indication of marital status) | Ms. |
| Dr. | Doctor | Doctor |
| St. | Street / Saint | Street / Saint |
| Ave. | Avenue | Avenue |
| No. | Number | Number |
| c/o | Care Of | Care of |
| P.S. | Post Scriptum | Addition after the signature |
| Re: | Regarding | Regarding (email subject) |
| Fwd: | Forwarded | Forwarded email |
| Cc | Carbon Copy | Copy visible to all recipients |
| Bcc | Blind Carbon Copy | Hidden copy from other recipients |
| Attn. | Attention | For the attention of |
The difference between Cc and Bcc is worth remembering: in Cc, all recipients can see each other; in Bcc, the added recipients remain invisible to others.
Medical and Scientific
| Abbreviation | Full Meaning | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| AIDS | Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome | AIDS |
| ENT | Ear, Nose and Throat | ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat) |
| ER | Emergency Room | Emergency room |
| ICU | Intensive Care Unit | Intensive care unit |
| Lab | Laboratory | Laboratory |
| PTSD | Post Traumatic Stress Disorder | Post-traumatic stress disorder |
| SSN | Social Security Number | Social security number |
| Rx | Prescription | Prescription |
International Organizations
| Abbreviation | Full Meaning | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| CIA | Central Intelligence Agency | US Central Intelligence Agency |
| EU | European Union | European Union |
| FBI | Federal Bureau of Investigation | US Federal Police |
| ICPO | International Criminal Police Organization | Interpol |
| IMF | International Monetary Fund | International Monetary Fund |
| MI6 | Military Intelligence, Section 6 | British foreign intelligence service |
| NATO | North Atlantic Treaty Organization | NATO |
| NGO | Non-Governmental Organization | NGO |
| NSA | National Security Agency | US electronic intelligence agency |
| UN | United Nations | UN |
| UNESCO | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization | UNESCO |
| WHO | World Health Organization | WHO |
| WTO | World Trade Organization | World Trade Organization |
Latin and Academic
| Abbreviation | Full Meaning | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| e.g. | exempli gratia | for example |
| i.e. | id est | that is |
| etc. | et cetera | etcetera |
| vs. | versus | against |
| N.B. | Nota Bene | note well |
| et al. | et alii | and others |
| Ph.D. | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate |
| MBA | Master of Business Administration | Master of Business Administration |
| M.A. | Master of Arts | Master of Arts / Humanities |
| GPA | Grade Point Average | Academic average (out of 4.0 in the US) |
e.g. introduces a specific example, while i.e. rephrases or clarifies what has just been said; both remain among the most confused abbreviations, even by advanced speakers.
Initialism, Acronym, or Truncation: Three Distinct Mechanisms
An acronym is pronounced as a word in its own right: NASA, RADAR, SCUBA. An initialism is pronounced letter by letter: FBI, CEO, USA. All acronyms are therefore initialisms, but the reverse is not true. A truncation refers to a word simply cut short, unrelated to initials: Lab (laboratory), info (information), app (application). Some words born as acronyms have ended up becoming common nouns in their own right, such as laser or scuba, which no longer take capital letters.
Should You Use Periods in English Abbreviations?
American usage traditionally keeps the period after personal titles (Mr., Mrs., Dr., Ms.) and Latin phrases (e.g., i.e., etc.). British English tends, conversely, to omit the period on titles, simply writing Mr or Dr. Uppercase initialisms for organizations (FBI, NATO, CEO, HR) do not take periods today in either variant. The rule to remember: stay consistent within a single document rather than mixing conventions.
The Plural of Abbreviations
The plural of an abbreviation is formed by simply adding an “s”, without an apostrophe: KPIs, CEOs, NDAs, FYIs. The apostrophe remains reserved for the possessive, as in the CEO’s office. Writing FYI’s for a plural is a frequent error, even among advanced speakers.
Two Common Pitfalls for French Speakers
The French initialism “RDV” does not exist in English and cannot be translated literally. Depending on the context, the equivalent is appointment (professional or medical appointment), meeting (meeting), or date (romantic date); the accepted abbreviation remains appt.
Register also matters: texting abbreviations like LOL, BTW, or OMG remain appropriate for an informal exchange between familiar colleagues, on Slack or Teams, but seem out of place in an email to a client or a superior, where standard professional forms (FYI, EOD, ASAP, COB) remain preferable.
