Acronym is often used to describe any collection of first letters of words in a phrase: NASA for National Aeronautics and Space Administration, CEO for chief executive officer, and so on. But not all ...

If an abbreviation formed from the first letters of several words is pronounced as one word, it's an acronym. Gif, laser and snafu are examples. If such an abbreviation is known by its letters, it's ...

I read with some amusement the letter from John Neumeyer regarding the use of acronyms in the literature without identifying their meaning (C&EN, March 30, page 2). I used to believe that any ...

The LG/LGBT/LGBTQ/LGBTQIA/ LGBTTQQIAAP+ community has a fair number of initialisms which encapsulate itself. Some are more general while others are very specific, at times leading to disagreement over ...

If you’ve seen the initialism “IIRC” being used online and in text messages and IM chats and are wondering what it means, here’s a quick definition plus tips of how to use it correctly… I’ve never ...

ICYMI (in case you missed it), acronyms, abbreviations, and initialisms are ways to shorten phrases and ideas both in normal speech and through texting and email. But a common FAQ (frequently asked ...