What is an acronym?
Quick answer
An acronym is a word formed from the first letters (or parts) of a phrase and pronounced as a word, such as NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) or NATO. When the letters are said one by one, like FBI or BBC, the strict term is an initialism, though many people call both acronyms.
Acronym vs initialism
| Type | How it’s said | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Acronym | As a word | NASA, NATO, UNESCO, AIDS, PIN |
| Initialism | Letter by letter | FBI, CEO, DVD, USA, BBC |
| Mixed | Part letters, part word | JPEG (“jay-peg”), CD-ROM |
Acronyms that became ordinary words
Some acronyms are so familiar that people forget they’re abbreviations and write them in lowercase:
| Word | Originally stood for |
|---|---|
| laser | Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation |
| radar | Radio detection and ranging |
| scuba | Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus |
| sonar | Sound navigation and ranging |
| taser | Named after a character, “Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle” |
Myths: words that aren’t acronyms
Many popular stories claim common words are acronyms, but most are invented after the fact:
- “Posh” does not stand for “port out, starboard home.”
- “Golf” does not stand for “gentlemen only, ladies forbidden.”
- “News” does not come from north, east, west, south.
Acronyms only became common in the 20th century, especially during the World Wars, so very old words are almost never acronyms.
Backronyms
A backronym is created in reverse: a phrase is invented to fit an existing word. The US AMBER Alert is named after Amber Hagerman, and was later given the backronym “America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response.”
For more wordplay, see what a palindrome is and what “et cetera” means.
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