What is an acronym?

What Are Acronyms? (with Examples)

An acronym is an abbreviation spoken like a word. For example:

Laser (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) (Note: Some acronyms are so common, they are often treated like normal words and are written in lowercase letters.)

• NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

• NAAFI (Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes)

• Be Careful with the Word "Acronym"

An abbreviation not spoken like a word (i.e., you read out its individual letters) is not an acronym. The following are not acronyms:

• BBC

• (British Broadcasting Corporation)

• LRS

• (Linear Recursive Sequence)

• M.O.T.

• (Ministry of Transport)

• e.g.

• (Latin: exempli gratia)

• These are initialism abbreviations as opposed to acronyms.