Abbreviations

Punctuation

Most abbreviations are generally written without full stops in modern British English. Full stops (AmE periods) are normal in American English.

• Mr (AmE Mr.) = Mister (not usually written in full)
• kg (AmE kg.) = kilogram
• Ltd = Limited (company)

Initial-letter abbreviations

Some abbreviations are made from the first letters of several words. This often happens with the names of organisations.

• the BBC = the British Broadcasting Corporation

These abbreviations are most often stressed on the last letter.

• the BBC /ðə ˌbiː biː ˈsiː/
• the USA /ðə ˌjuː es ˈeɪ/

If one of these abbreviations has an article (a/an or the), the form and pronunciation of the article depend on the pronunciation of the first letter of the abbreviation. Compare:

• an EU country
  a US diplomat /ə juː …/ (not an US …)

• a BA degree
  an MP /ən em …/ (not a MP)

• the USA /ðə juː …/ (not / ðiː juː …/)
  the RSPCA /ðiː ɑːr …/ (not /ðə ɑːr …/)

Acronyms

Some initial-letter abbreviations are pronounced like words. These are often called ‘acronyms’. Articles are usually dropped in acronyms.

• UNESCO /juːˈneskəʊ/ (not the UNESCO) = the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation

Note that not all initial-letter abbreviations are pronounced as words.

• the CIA /ˌsiː aɪ ˈeɪ/ (not /ˈsɪə/)
• the IRA /ˌaɪ ɑːr ˈeɪ/ (not /ˈaɪrə/)

Plurals

An apostrophe (’) is sometimes used before the s in the plurals of abbreviations.

• MP’s, CD’s but more often MPs, CDs.

Some common abbreviations

The following abbreviations are given in their common British form, without full stops. Some of them could also have full stops in British English, and most would have full stops in American English. This is a small selection of the very many abbreviations commonly used in English. For explanations of others, see a good dictionary.

Abbreviation	Meaning
AD (AmE A.D.)	after the birth of Christ (from Latin anno domini, ‘in the year of the Lord’, used before years)
Aids or AIDS	Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
am	in the morning (from Latin ante meridiem, ‘before midday’)
asap	as soon as possible
ATM	cash machine (‘automated teller machine’)
Aug	August
Ave	Avenue
b	born (in biographical dates)
BA	Bachelor of Arts
BA	British Airways
BC	before Christ (used before years)
BCE	before the Common Era (alternative to BC, now increasingly preferred)
BSc (BrE)	Bachelor of Science
C	Celsius, centigrade
Capt	Captain
CD	compact disc (e.g. for recorded music)
CE	Common Era (alternative to AD, now increasingly preferred)
CEO	Chief Executive Officer
CIA	Central Intelligence Agency (the United States external security service)
cl	centilitre(s)
cm	centimetre(s)
c/o	care of (in addresses, meaning ‘living at X’s house’)
Co	Company
Col	Colonel
Corp	Corporation
Cpl	Corporal
cu	cubic
CV (BrE)	summary of career (from Latin curriculum vitae, equivalent of AmE résumé)
d	died (in biographical dates)
Dec	December
dept	department
DIY	do it yourself
DNA	deoxyribonucleic acid
Dr	Doctor
DVD	digital versatile disc, digital videodisc
E	east(ern)
ed	edited (by), editor
e.g.	for example (from Latin exempli gratia)
ETA	estimated time of arrival
etc	and so on (from Latin et cetera, ‘and other things’)
EU	European Union
F	Fahrenheit
FAQ	frequently asked questions
FBI	Federal Bureau of Investigation (the United States national police force)
Feb	February
ft	foot, feet (in measurements)
gal	gallon(s)
GB	Great Britain; gigabyte(s)
Gen	General
GMT	Greenwich Mean Time
GNP	gross national product
govt	government
HIV	human immunodeficiency virus
hr	hour(s)
i.e.	in other words (from Latin id est, ‘that is’)
in	inch(es)
Inc	Incorporated
IRA	Irish Republican Army
IT	information technology
Jan	January
Jr	Junior
kg	kilogram(s)
km	kilometre(s)
kph	kilometres per hour
lb	pound(s) in weight*(from Latin*libra(e))
LCD	liquid crystal display
LED	light-emitting diode
Lt	Lieutenant
Ltd	Limited
m	metre(s)
MA	Master of Arts
MD (BrE)	Managing Director
mg	milligram(s)
MI5	the Security Service (concerned with information from inside Britain)
MI6	the Secret Intelligence Service (concerned with information from outside Britain)
min	minute(s)
ml	millilitre(s)
mm	millimetre(s)
MP	Member of Parliament
mph	miles per hour
Mt	Mount
N	north(ern)
NATO	North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
NE	north-east(ern)
NHS	National Health Service
No	number
Nov	November
NW	north-west(ern)
Oct	October
oz	ounce(s)
PA	personal assistant
PC	personal computer; police constable
PhD	Doctor of Philosophy
PM	Prime Minister
pm	in the afternoon (from Latin post meridiem, ‘after midday’)
Prof	Professor
PS	addition to a written message (from Latin post scriptum, ‘written afterwards’)
pt	pint
Rd	Road
RIP	Rest in Peace (from Latin requiesca(n)t in pace, ‘May he/she/they rest in peace.’)
rpm	revolutions per minute
RSVP	Please reply (on invitations, from French Répondez s’il vous plaît.)
S	south(ern)
SE	south-east(ern)
sec	second(s)
Sept	September
Sgt	Sergeant
Sq	Square (in place names)
sq	square (in measurements)
St	Street; Saint
SW	south-west(ern)
UK	United Kingdom
UN	United Nations
UNESCO or Unesco	United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
uni	university
Univ	University
US	United States
USA	United States of America
VAT	value added tax
VIP	very important person
vol	volume
v; also (especially AmE) vs/vs.	against (especially in sporting events, from Latin versus)
W	west(ern)
WHO	World Health Organisation
www	world-wide web
yd	yard(s)

note

For abbreviations used in some electronic messages (e.g. hope 2 c u for hope to see you), (see here).