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COMMON ACRONYMS IN ENGLISH


There are many acronyms and abbreviations in the English language to facilitate, speed up communication between professionals. Some of them are quite general and others are more specific (e.g. they are related to new technologies, finance or marketing).


They mostly originate from and are related to the business world, although they are increasingly used in everyday speech. Knowing and understanding these acronyms certainly improves understanding and communication in English (be it everyday communication or the business environment).



ASAP


What are acronyms

An acronym is formed using the first letters of a longer name (acronyms are shortenings of a whole name consisting of several words). Note that an acronym is not an abbreviation, as an abbreviation is formed from the first (and possibly last) letters or syllables of a single word (name), i.e.: the full name of an abbreviation is one word; and the full name of an acronym is several words.



Why use acronyms

There are many reasons for this, but the most important is to save time. For example, it is easier and quicker to use the acronym CEFR than ‘The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages’. Sometimes acronyms are used to save space, e.g. on packaging, or to make a term sound ‘more appealing’ in everyday use.



When to use acronyms

It is best to take an inspiration from the language environment. For example, many companies use specialised acronyms (even those invented by a given company) to improve communication - in these circumstances it is worth knowing and using the acronyms in question. If you work in a particular industry, it is also useful to know and use specialised and industry-specific acronyms.

However, it is important to remember that too many acronyms in one message make it difficult to understand - so you should be moderate in their use.





Popular acronyms in English

General


FYI 

For Your Information 


FAQ 

Frequently Asked Questions


RSVP

Répondez S'il Vous Plaît / Please Respond / Respond, If It Pleases You


AKA

Also Known As


BTW

by the way


LOL

Laughing Out Loud


Q&A

Questions and Answers


AFAIK

As Far As I Know


CU

See You


NGL

Not Gonna Lie


BION

Believe It Or Not


CFV

Call For Votes


EOD

End Of Discussion


F2F

Face To Face


TBC

To Be Confirmed


FOMO

Fear Of Missing Out


IDK

I Don’t Know


TNX

Thanks


IMO

In My Opinion


COI

Certificate of Insurance


GNP

Gross National Product


VAT

Value Added Tax


BRB

Be Right Back


BBQ

Barbecue 


PPV

Pay Per View



Business English


ASAP

As Soon As Possible


B2B

Business to Business


B2C

Business to Consumer


BD

Business Development


CEO

Chief Executive Officer


CFO

Chief Financial Officer


COO

Chief Operating Officer


CTO

Chief Technology Officer


COB

Close Of Business


POS

Point of Sale


DM

Direct Mail / Direct Message


CC

Carbon Copy


BCC

Blind Carbon Copy


CRM

Customer Relationship Management


CSR

Corporate Social Responsibility


EOD

End Of Day 


EOW

End Of Week


HR

Human Resources


IAM

In A Meeting


KPI 

Key Performance Indicator


ROI

Return On Investment


ROA

Return On Assets


ROE

Return On Equity


SMART

Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound


MOM

Month Over Month


QOQ

Quarter Over Quarter


YOY

Year Over Year


PA

Performance Appraisal / Personal Assistant


PDP

Personal Development Programme


P/E

Price to Earnings


P&L

Profit and Loss


FTE

Full-time Employee


PTE

Part-time Employee


PTO

Paid Time Off


SMB

Small to Medium Business


SKU

Stock Keeping Unit


TOS

Terms Of Service


YTD

Year To Date


CPC

Cost Per Click


HTML

Hypertext Markup Language


QC

Quality Control


R&D

Research and Development


SaaS

Software as a Service


SEO

Search Engine Optimization


SMM

Social Media Marketing


SWOT

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats


UI

User Interface


VPN

Virtual Private Network


WOM

Word Of Mouth






Want to know more English acronyms? Check out our ebook: "CRACK THE CODE OF BUSINESS"


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