80 Acronym Examples You Should Know
Updated: Feb. 06, 2023
Acronyms make communication easier, but who can keep track of what they mean? We can, and now you can too with these common acronym examples.
Learn these acronym examples ASAP
Sometimes we have a lot to say, but little time to say it. That’s where acronyms come in and help speed things up. What exactly is an acronym? It’s a word comprised of the first initials of the other words, which is then pronounced as its own word. Acronyms are created to shorten long phrases and speed up communication, much like abbreviations and initialisms.
While these terms are similar, they do have distinct differences to note. Abbreviations shorten a word or phrase without creating a new word to say (think of “avenue” being abbreviated to “ave.”). Initialisms are words comprised of the first letter of phrases, but you say the individual letters instead of combining them to make a new word (think “RSVP“—you don’t create a new word when reading it aloud). Did you know canola in canola oil is an acronym?
You’ve likely seen these acronyms in everyday life mixed in with common texting abbreviations. But what exactly do they mean? Here’s a quick guide to keep you in the know and help you communicate faster (we also included some common abbreviations and initialisms for reference).
Common acronyms
| AM/PM | Abbreviations for “ante meridiem” and “post meridiem” |
| ASAP | As soon as possible |
| BOGO | Buy one, get one |
| BOPUS | Buy online, pick up in store |
| ICYMI | An abbreviation meaning “in case you missed it” |
| FOMO | Fear of missing out |
| FWIW | An abbreviation meaning “for what it’s worth” |
| LASER | Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation |
| Ms. | Commonly considered an abbreviation for “miss,” but technically it’s not an abbreviation for anything. The period is there to indicate that it’s a valid title for adults to use. |
| P.S. | An abbreviation for “postscript” |
| PIN | Personal identification number |
| RADAR | Radio detecting and ranging |
| RIP | Rest in peace (this can also be an initialism, as some people say “r” “i” “p”) |
| SCUBA | Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus |
| SMART | Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time-bound (commonly used when setting goals) |
| SNAFU | Situation normal, all fouled up |
| SOHCAHTOA | Acronym used in mathematics to remember the trigonometric functions sine, cosine, and tangent. |
| SONAR | Sound navigation and ranging |
| SOS | Commonly assumed to stand for “save our ship”, but technically, the international distress signal doesn’t stand for anything |
| TASER | Tom A. Swift Electric Rifle |
| VIN | Vehicle identification number |
| WD-40 | Water Displacement, 40th formula |
| YOLO | You only live once |
| ZIP | Zone improvement plan |
Computer and Internet acronyms
| AJAX | Asynchronous JavaScript And XML |
| CAPTCHA | Completely Automated Public Turing Test to tell Computers and Humans Apart |
| CD-ROM | Compact Disc Read-Only Memory |
| DVD | Digital Versatile Disc |
| Fios | Fiber Optic Service |
| GIF | Graphics Interchange Format |
| JPEG | Joint Photographic Experts Group |
| JSON | JavaScript Object Notation |
| PNG | Portable Network Graphics |
| RAM | Random Access Memory |
| SIM | Subscriber Identity Module (as in a SIM card) |
| URL | An initialism that stands for “Uniform Resource Locator” |
| WiFi | An abbreviation commonly thought to stand for “Wireless Fidelity”, but technically, it doesn’t stand for anything |
Military and government acronyms
| AWOL | Absent without leave |
| CONUS | The Continental United States |
| FEMA | Federal Emergency Management Agency |
| FLOTUS | First Lady of the United States |
| FOIA | Freedom of Information Act |
| HIPAA | Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 |
| HUD | Department of Housing and Urban Development |
| ICE | Immigration and Customs Enforcement |
| NATO | North Atlantic Treaty Organization |
| OCONUS | Outside the Continental United States |
| OSHA | Occupational Safety and Health Administration |
| POTUS | President of the United States |
| SCOTUS | Supreme Court of the United States |
| SWAT | Special Weapons And Tactics |
| WIC | Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children |
Medical acronyms
| AIDS | Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome |
| COVID-19 | Coronavirus disease of 2019 |
| CPAP | Continuous positive airway pressure |
| ICU | Intensive care unit |
| NICU | Neonatal intensive care unit |
| Preop | An abbreviation for “preoperative” |
| Postop | An abbreviation for “postoperative” |
| ROM | Range of motion |
| SARS | Severe acute respiratory syndrome |
| STAT | An abbreviation for “statim,” which is Latin for “immediately” |
| UTI | Urinary tract infection |
Brand and organizational acronyms
| ABBA | The name of the famous Swedish pop group combines the first initial of its members’ names—Agnetha, Björn, Benny, and Anni-Frid. |
| Aflac | American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus |
| AT&T | An initialism for “American Telephone and Telegraph” |
| BAFTA | British Academy of Film and Television Arts |
| CARE | Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere |
| CVS | An initialism for “Consumer Value Store” |
| DARE | Drug Abuse Resistance Education |
| Epcot | Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow |
| FIFA | Fédération Internationale de Football Association |
| GEICO | Government Employees Insurance Company |
| H&M | An initialism for “Hennes & Mauritz” |
| IKEA | Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnary. The first two words are the founder’s name, Invgvar Kamprad, and the second two refer to Kamprad’s family farm (Elmtaryd) and hometown (Agunnary, Sweden) |
| MADD | Mothers Against Drunk Driving |
| NASDAQ | National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations |
| Necco | New England Confectionary Company |
| UNICEF | United Nations Children’s Fund |
| Yahoo! | Yet Another Hierarchically Organized Oracle |
