What are Abbreviations and acronyms?
Abbreviations and acronyms are shorter versions of existing words and phrases. They're designed to save time and take up less space, and can even make your writing easier to read.
What is an abbreviation?
Abbreviations are all around us, from common titles like Dr. and Prof. to the abbreviations you see on street signs. Specifically, abbreviations are shorter spellings of words and expressions we use every day.
What is an acronym?
You might already know some acronyms, like NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and ATM (automated teller machine). An acronym is a stand-in for a string of words, usually an organization name, slogan, or something else equally wordy. Unlike abbreviations, they aren't shorter spellings of words—they're made up of the words' initials.
Using abbreviations
Abbreviations are usually formed using the most recognizable letters from the word or expression. This makes them easier to remember, and easy for others to read. It's almost like the letters are clues that point to the original word or expression.
Some abbreviations look like acronyms (for example, mph and NY), but it's really just a coincidence. Technically, these are initialisms, which is a type of abbreviation. Thankfully, you don't have to know whether something is an abbreviation, initialism, or acronym to use it properly. You just have to know what the term means, and how to spell it—everything else will usually fall into place.
Now that you know how abbreviations are formed, you may be wondering how they're pronounced. Most of the time, they're pronounced the same as the original word—whether you're reading it aloud or in your head.
For example, Prof. Snape would be pronounced Professor Snape (not Prof Snape). The abbreviation etc. would be pronounced et cetera (not e-t-c). The important thing to remember is that abbreviations aren't words in the true sense—they're more like shorthand.
There are some exceptions that are pronounced differently. For instance, AM, PM, i.e., and PhD are pronounced exactly the way they're spelled. This happens when the abbreviation becomes more popular than the original term—usually because the original is too long or outdated. For example, AM stands for Ante Meridiem. (That's Latin for before noon. Who knew?)
Luckily, there aren't many exceptions like this, so you don't have to worry too much about making a mistake. Most abbreviations are pronounced the same as the word they're based on, like hr, min, and sec (that's hour, minute, and second).
Period vs. no period
This is one of the most common questions people have about abbreviations: Do you have to use a period at the end when writing it out? There's no strict rule that says you do—it's kind of up to you.
Sometimes adding a period is expected and can make the abbreviation easier to read. Take the example below. Pop. is the abbreviation for the word population—without a period, it might just look like pop (as in pop goes the weasel).
On the other hand, some abbreviations never use a period; for example, state postal abbreviations like NY, CA, and TX. The abbreviation for United States of America can be written with a period between each letter, but it's much more common without. The same goes for measurement abbreviations like ft, in, and cm.
Other Common Abbreviations
Below are a few other abbreviations that are common in English. Remember that abbreviations are not always completely standardized. One style guide may advise you to abbreviate Thursday as Thurs.
Times and dates
a.m. (ante meridiem) = before noon p.m. (post meridiem) = after noon
The mall opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 8 p.m.
Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, Jun., Jul., Aug., Sep., Oct., Nov., Dec.
I was born on Nov. 6, 1980.
Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs., Fri., Sat,. Sun.
The class will run Mon.-Fri. next week.
Places
U.S. (United States) U.K. (United Kingdom) E.U. (European Union) U.A.E. (United Arab Emerates)
The U.S. highway system seems enormous to visitors from the U.K.
Units of Measurement
in. (inches) ft. (feet) lbs. (pounds)
mm. (millimeters) cm. (centimeters) m. (meters)
mg. (milligram) g. (gram) kg. (kilogram)
My cat weighs 10 lbs., which is about 4.5 kg.
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