English Abbreviations

David Fisher
Jun 12
3 min read

Updated: Sep 20

English abbreviations are used throughout the English language.

Using abbreviations is considered good for efficiency and conciseness, but they're not always appropriate. There are times when using abbreviations is problematic.

Formal and Academic Writing - In essays, research papers, and formal reports, spell out a term the first time you use it, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. For example, "The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a report." After that, you can use the abbreviation. This ensures that readers unfamiliar with the term can understand it.

Communicating with a General Audience If your readers are not experts in the subject, using jargon or technical abbreviations can confuse them. For instance, explaining a medical condition using acronyms like "MI" (myocardial infarction) without context would be unhelpful.

Legal and Contractual Documents Clarity is paramount in these documents. Abbreviations could be misinterpreted and should be avoided unless they are defined explicitly.

There are two types of abbreviations.

An acronym is a new word created from the initial letters of a long name or phrase, for example, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).

An initialism is where a long phrase is abbreviated to its initial letters but the letters are pronounced individually, not spoken as a word. For example, FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) is pronounced EF BEE EYE. An initialism is considered to be a type of acronym. U.S.A. is itself an abbreviation, as are the shortened forms of the 50 states, like NY for New York and CA for California etc

The most commonly used abbreviations in English are e.g. (exempli gratia) which means for example and

etc. (et cetera) which means and similar both sharing their origins in Latin.

Some abbreviations have different meanings depending on the context in which they are used, and some may have different meanings in different parts of the English speaking world.

English Abbreviations for Everyday Use

approx - approximately
appt - appointment
apt - apartment
ASAP - as soon as possible
BYOB- bring your own bottle
c/o - in care of, used when sending mail to someone who's not at their usual address
dept - department
DIY - do it yourself
est - established
ETA - estimated time of arrival
min - minute or minimum
misc - miscellaneous
no - number
R.S.V.P. - Répondez, S'il Vous Plait, originates from French meaning please reply. It's used on invitations to parties and events and is intended to be a response. With a yes, we will attend, or no, we will not.
tel - telephone
temp - temperature or temporary
vet - veteran or veterinarian
vs - versus

English Abbreviations for Map Locations

Ave - Avenue
Blvd - Boulevard
Cyn - Canyon
Dr - Drive
Ln - Lane
Rd - Road
St - Street
E - east
N - north
S - south
W - west
NE - northeast
NW - northwest
SE - southeast
SW - southwest

English Abbreviations for Academic and Job Titles

BA - Bachelor of Arts
BS - Bachelor of Science
LLC - limited liability company
MA - Master of Arts
M.PHIL or MPHIL - Master of Philosophy
JD - Juris Doctor
DC - Doctor of Chiropractic
PA - Personal Assistant
MD - Managing Director
VP - Vice President
SVP - Senior Vice President
EVP - Executive Vice President
CMO - Chief Marketing Officer
CFO - Chief Financial Officer
CEO - Chief Executive Officer

English Abbreviations for Social Media, Chat, and Slang

The advent of the Internet brought about a whole new range of abbreviations into our daily lives. For the sake of brevity, our texts, tweets, and chats are now made up of many abbreviations.