What Are Acronyms? (with Examples)
What Are Acronyms? (with Examples)
An acronym is an abbreviation spoken like a word. For example:
- NATO
(North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
- NAAFI
(Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes)
- Laser
(Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation)
(Note: Some acronyms are so common, they are often treated like normal words and are written in lowercase letters.)
Be Careful with the Word "Acronym"
An abbreviation not spoken like a word (i.e., you read out its individual letters) is not an acronym. The following are not acronyms:
- BBC
(British Broadcasting Corporation)
- LRS
(Linear Recursive Sequence)
- M.O.T.
(Ministry of Transport)
- e.g.
(Latin: exempli gratia)
These are initialism abbreviations as opposed to acronyms.
