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Questions tagged [acronyms]

An acronym is a word formed from the initial letters of other words. Acronyms, unlike initialisms, are pronounced as a single word. For example, "NASA" is an **acronym**, "FBI" is an **initialism**. Abbreviations (such as *Rd." for "Road") are pronounced the same as the word that they are abbreviating.

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Where are the periods in acronyms?

Okay, when I see acronyms I usually see stuff like NYOB, OMG, PM, stuff like that. I also see some of them with periods on them like N.A.S.A. Do you put the dots in them, or not?
Major Tom's user avatar
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4 votes
3 answers
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What is the plural form of DVD?

I own lots of DVD's. I own lots of DVDs I own lots of DVD. How can I properly indicate the plural for acronyms in English?
bart-leby's user avatar
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4 votes
3 answers
10k views

he wore horn rims with clear lenses just to look more WASP-y - what does WASPy mean?

From the movie The Wolf of Wall Street: And he did quit his job. Which I thought was a little weird. I mean, I just met this fucking guy. Don't fucking tell Susan. It's none of her business. There ...
Michael Rybkin's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
4k views

How do you read ISO numbers?

I came across an ISO, say ISO 12345:78, and wondered what is the way to pronunce it: For the ISO part, should I say... "ei" "es" "ou"? or "aiso"? For the 12345:78 part, should I say... "one" "two" ...
fedorqui's user avatar
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4 votes
4 answers
1k views

How to refer to somebody who answered a question?

On StackExchange websites I often read the OP acronym to talk about a person who asks a question. How about the one who answers the question? How would I refer to them? Is there an acronym or a ...
Fractaliste's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
538 views

Is this correct?- 'This Organisation is S.H.I.E.L.D..'

is this correct? 'This Organisation is S.H.I.E.L.D..' Note the 2 dots that I put there after 'D'. What I meant was the first dot would indicate full form of 'D' & second dot the full stop.
CuriousMind's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
463 views

Laugh out loud (lol) vs Laughing my ass off (lmao)

I know that lol means laugh out loud, and lmao is laughing my ass off, but in what context(s) would I use these, and what are their fundamental differences? Also, I talk with a lot of people (mostly ...
Joe Kerr's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
9k views

Best acronym/abbreviation for the word "template"

What would be the proper way to shorten the word "template" down to maximum of 3 symbols for use in busy diagrams and schemes in (bio)chemical context? From here and there I only found TPL and TML ...
andselisk's user avatar
  • 409
3 votes
3 answers
2k views

Yuppie, DINKs: Acronym or portmanteau?

yuppie is short for Young Urban Professional DINKs is short for Dual Income, No Kids For each of these two words: Is it an acronym or a portmanteau? It sounds to me like they are not real acronyms, ...
Nicolas Raoul's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
397 views

why no article before G.D.P.?

A quote from NY Times: For the first quarter, the bureau now says G.D.P. grew at a 1.1 percent rate — after a series of reductions from its initial estimate of 2.5 percent. Why is there no ...
CowperKettle's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
3k views

Pronunciation rules for acronyms

Usually I hear all the acronyms (like ASAP) spelled out, even if reading them like they were a word would be possible. So my question is: is there a formal rule for the pronunciation of acronyms? Or ...
user avatar
2 votes
6 answers
760 views

What if an abbreviation is formed of different letters, not the first letters

I have encountered a very confusing abbreviation form. ex) an electrical vehicle charging apparatus (EVSE). I've searched on Google and have found out that the EVSE stands for "electrical vehicle ...
Zoie's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
167 views

Are acronyms pronounced as a one word or separately?

In English language there are innumerable Acronyms, but what I don’t know is that when do we pronounce an acronym as one word and when as separate Letters? For Instance, UNICEF is pronounced /...
Bavyan Yaldo's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
307 views

What's CBG's meaning in chatting [closed]

I enter a chatting room and see many lines of 'CBG' in its chatting history, I learn that it acronym of 'creeping bald guy' whereas still cannot get its point.
FirstThingFirst's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
884 views

What is an ECT team?

It's a quote from the drama Manifest -They've got an ECT team on site. They're canvassing the neighborhood. -They'll focus on the family first. Monitor the situation and report back. There ...
scarlett's user avatar
  • 1,157
1 vote
2 answers
107 views

A word for "an acronym made to remember sequences"?

Example: In elementary math, students learn to remember the prioritization sequence: Paranthesis, exponents, multiplication, divison, addition, subtraction. To remember this, all first letters ...
Steeven's user avatar
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1 vote
3 answers
3k views

What's the abbreviation for Widow? - Native speakers preferred

Dictionaries and online sources say the abbreviation for 'widow' could be... wid w ww wd, and so on... But One of the references as stated by some Native speaker (and, also a few likes) say ...
Maulik V's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
597 views

Why do people use last word of an acronym?

I have heard a lot of people saying- It's an HIV virus. I study in BJS school. and so on... This means- It's a Human immunodeficiency virus virus I study in Bishop Johnson School School. Is it ...
LalaByte's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
117 views

Is OECD an acronym, an abbreviation, or something else?

Is OECD,Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, an acronym or we just call them as simply an abbreviation because every letter is pronounced one by one in the same way just like in the ...
Mrt's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
522 views

initialisms‎ vs acronyms vs abbreviations [closed]

What is the difference between these initialisms‎ vs acronyms vs abbreviations? As I understand from SO: initialisms‎ are like BOA,USA(i.e. letter by letter). acronyms are like NASA, AIDS(i.e. ...
Premraj's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
2k views

"The BBC" or BBC (without the)

When often hear on TV, such as "This is CNN" or "This is BBC World". There is no "THE" before the name of the TV. So far so good. However, I have recently been listening to some scientific panel ...
yunus's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
1k views

Why UTC is not CUT even though that stands for Coordinated Universal Time?

Why UTC is not CUT even though that stands for Coordinated Universal Time? Is there rule for acronym that doesn't keep the order of original words?
ironsand's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
89 views

What is the correct meaning for the acronym PPP?

Currently reading this article, there is a line, says, “We've increased our offer up to almost $1.9 trillion,” Meadows told reporters on Monday morning. “[The president] is willing to give some ...
user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
41 views

What is the best short message to get away from virtual meeting for short time?

Due to the pandemic, many daily standup meetings were converted into video calls but it is not always possible to be available on the call all the time, sometimes we have to get away from the call for ...
Bhavesh Salunke's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
109 views

NB latin abbreviation not known to most English native speaker ? what others?

NB latin abbreviation is used everywhere in French, and present in English dictionaries and wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nota_bene , but quite often English speaking people ask me what it ...
Fabrice NEYRET's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
13k views

Do we always use indefinite article before any course or degree like "M.A."?

I've seen people using "a/an" before MA, BA, B.Tech, BE, MBA, etc. I want to know if "a/an" is always necessary to be used before the names of courses or degrees. Is it incorrect ...
Gurpreet's user avatar
  • 1,100
0 votes
1 answer
2k views

What does "ROS" mean in the context of online advertisement? [closed]

At http://stackexchange.com/mediakit you can see two online advertising plans, one of which says: SELF-SERVE $500-$4,999 ROS global only What does the 3rd line "ROS global only" mean?
Nicolas Raoul's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
211 views

How do you pronounce WIP?

WIP (work in progress) is a commonly used acronym. But what is the correct way to pronounce it? Letter by letter seems clunky.
Eisenfrost's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
83 views

How do I find out if something is an initialism or an acronym?

How do I find out if an abbreviation is an initialism, which means I need to put "the" before it, or an acronym, for which I don't need to? (If I don't know how it is pronounced)
user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
489 views

How does stand for "get V"?

I remember we would dream about kids Tryna get that V with that crib Back when you used to be’s with that Crip I can suppose it means a vehicle, but might it be something else? This is from the ...
Дмитрий's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

By its acronym / in its acronym?

CONTEXT: Expressing that some given acronym corresponds to a language different from the one used to give the full name of a certain entity. QUESTION: Is the following sentence (in bold) correct and ...
Vicent's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
338 views

What are gag call letters and what's funny in the WDOPE, KUNT, and WA6 acronyms?

Here's a passage from Stephen King's Night Surf short story: The Massachusetts station was better, but we could only get it at night. It was a bunch of kids. I guess they took over the ...
Victor B.'s user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
1k views

What is the meaning of 'N-PLURAL' in the Collins COBUILD dictionary? [duplicate]

N-PLURAL represents plural noun according to the explanation in the Collins COBUILD dictionary. Can I interpret it as a noun that is countable but unable to be used in singular form and only able to ...
Ming Lu's user avatar
  • 99
0 votes
1 answer
59 views

Would this be considered as a proper acronym?

I know acronyms are like abbreviation of words. For example, LASER would be Light Amplification by Simulated Emission of Radiation and SCUBA would be Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. So,...
CipherBot's user avatar
  • 1,025
0 votes
1 answer
14 views

Which short form of "Stack Exchange Data Explorer" is more commonly used? "SEDE" or "the SEDE"?

"SEDE" is an acronym for "Stack Exchange Data Explorer", so when using it as an acronym, very strictly speaking, it should be "the SEDE". Is it okay to use as a proper ...
starball's user avatar
  • 265
0 votes
0 answers
23 views

What is "M.O.B."?

What is "M.O.B."? From Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms Now let's go up the mountain. Should we? Can we get the M.O.B.?
Sergey Zolotarev's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
73 views

The meaning of the acronym ITE?

I am reading a novel about North African prisoners of war and in it the writer uses the acronym "Ite" to represent a certain AXIS group of Soldiers. The best I can make out is that its the ...
David Helsten's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
4k views

for YOUR information & for YOU information? [closed]

Why don't we interpret FYI as “information for you” or “for-you information”? As a matter of fact, I don't understand the “for your” in FYI. P.S. I've already checked the dictionary before asking. So ...
K.K's user avatar
  • 3
-1 votes
1 answer
23 views

Should 'PFA' be followed by 'is'?

I am a Grammarly user. When I use PFA (Please find attachment) in my emails, PFA the updated presentation. It suggests I update the statement as: PFA is the updated presentation. Please clarify if ...
Sachin's user avatar
  • 103
-1 votes
1 answer
81 views

Have no idea what this sentence means [closed]

It's from a tweet. I mean, I get what the story is about, but I have no idea what the sentence in bold type means. It's cryptic to me. Source: Twitter The info flow/expectation setting w medium info ...
user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
51 views

What does M.O. mean here?

What does mean "M.O." here? I have found a list of possible meanings for this acronym but do not know which applies. “Some people collect cars,” Fieldly says. “That’s not his M.O.—Carl ...
haile's user avatar
  • 5,153
-2 votes
1 answer
17 views

full word of we'd acronym word

What is the full word of the sentence which has the acronym word below? I guess we'd better do something about that! The acronym word we'd. When we use the phrase? we'd better
tcvduc's user avatar
  • 99
-2 votes
1 answer
74 views

What is the actor saying [closed]

What is the actor talking about from 5:25 to 5:55. Especially at 5:41. "...make the mistake of showing my son..." YouTube subtitles aren't really helpful. He mentions something that is ...
Antonia A 's user avatar
  • 1,991