English abbreviations & acronyms
@ at
a/c account
AGM annual general meeting
a. m. ante meridiem (before noon)
a/o account of (on behalf of)
AOB any other business
ASAP as soon as possible
ATM automated teller machine (cash dispenser)
attn for the attention of
approx. approximately
cc copy to
CEO chief executive officer
c/o care of (on letters : at the address of)
Co company
cm centimetre
COD cash on delivery
dept department
e. g. exempli gratia (for example)
EGM extraordinary general meeting
ETA estimated time of arrival
etc et caetera (and so on)
GDP gross domestic product
GNP gross national product
GMT Greenwich mean time (time in London)
i. e. id est (meaning : ‘that is’)
Inc incorporated
IOU I owe you
IPO initial public offer
Jr junior
K thousand
lb pound (weight)
£ pound (money)
Ltd limited company
mo. month
N/A not applicable
NB Nota Bene (it is important to note)
no. number
PA personal assistant
p. a. per annum (per year)
Plc public limited company
pls please
p. m. post meridiem (after noon)
p. p. per pro (used before signing in a person’s absence)
PR public relations
p. s. post scriptum
pto please turn over
p. w. per week
qty quantity
R & D research and development
re with reference to
ROI return on investment
RSVP repondez s’il vous plait (please reply)
s. a. e. stamped addressed envelope
VAT value added tax
VIP very important person
___________________________________
Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations formed from the initial components in a phrase or name. An abbreviation (from Latin brevis, meaning short) is a shortened form of a word or phrase. For example, the
word abbreviation can itself be represented by the abbreviation abbr.,
Why do you need to know this? Well, you don’t, but you will find them cropping up in business, and education, and nowadays in forums, when you’re texting and in chat rooms. So, it’s a good idea to at least be aware of their existence.
Symbol
Meaning
& and
~ approximately / about / more or less
@ at
° degree
$ Dollar
= equals/is the same as
€ Euro
> greater / better / more than
∞ infinity
< less / smaller than
– minus
# number
¶ paragraph
% per cent
+ plus, in addition to
£ Pound
§ section
therefore
¥ Yen
24/7
24 hours a day, 7 days a week
404
I don’t know
Abbr. abbreviation
Addr. address
AGM annual general meeting
Aka
also known as
Aob any other business
Approx. approximately
Asap as soon as possible
Asst. assortment
B/c because
BTW by the way
C. or ca. circa, about c.1800
C19 nineteenth century
Cd. could
CEO chief executive officer
Cf. compare this with…
Ch. chapter
C/o
care of
Cob close of business
Compl. complete
Corp. corporation
CRM customer relationship management
CSR corporate social responsibility
Ct. contrast
Ctrl. control
CV curriclum vitae
Dept. department
Devt. development
Diff. difference
Diy
do it yourself
Edn. edition
Educ. education
E. g.
exempli gratia (for example)
Encl. enclosed
EOB
end of business
EOM end of message
Esp.
especially
ETA
estimated time of arrival
Et al. et alii (and everyone else)
Etc.
etcetera (and so forth)
FAQ(s) frequently asked question(s)
Fifo first in first out
Filo first in last out
Fwd forwarded
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