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English Abbreviations and Acronyms
Have you come across an English abbreviation or acronym in English that you don't know while surfing the web, chatting, texting, or in an email?
Then I can probably help you. In this article you will find over 200 of the most important English abbreviations and acronyms in English. Always together with both the English (written out) and the German meaning.
ASAP or "as soon as possible" is an example of an English abbreviation or acronym. In German "as soon as possible". [Image ID: 250309332 – © depositphotos.com / nata3081.gmail.com]
This list is constantly being expanded. So if you are missing an English abbreviation, just write it in the comment and it will be added as soon as possible.
In this article you will find the list as a table. If you sign up for our newsletter , you will receive the table as a PDF free of charge . You will also receive the English learning package from us with further learning aids such as the cheat sheet on the English tenses.
What is an acronym anyway? According to the Duden definition, an acronym is an abbreviation made up of the first letters of several words, with EDV (electronic data processing) is mentioned as an example.
Other acronyms include ADAC (General German Automobile Club), PC (Personal Computer) and TÜV (Technical Monitoring Association).
But now our list of English abbreviations, which, as I said, are made up of the first letters of several words.
In the first column you will always find the acronym, in the second the English meaning and in the third the German translation.
| Abbreviation or acronym | English meaning |
| acc. | account |
| AD | Anno Domini; in the year of our Lord |
| ADN | any day now |
| addr. | address |
| AFAIK | As far as I know. |
| AFK | Away from keyboard. |
| AKA | Also known as. |
| AT THE | ante meridiem; before noon |
| government office. | amount |
| approx. | approximately |
| ASAP | As soon as possible. |
| ASL | Age, sex, location |
| ATM | automated plate machine |
| att. | to the attention of |
| ave | avenue |
| a/c | air conditioning |
| B.A | Bachelor of Arts |
| BSc or BS | Bachelor of Science |
| B2B | business to business |
| B2C | Business to consumer |
| B4N | Bye for now. |
| baby | Babe or babe |
| BAK | Back at keyboard. |
| BBL | Be back later. |
| B.C | Before Christ |
| b.c. | blind copy |
| BCE | Before common era. |
| BEG | big evil grin |
| BFF | Best friends forever. |
| bn | trillion |
| BOL | beginning of life |
| BRB | Be right back. |
| brothers | brothers |
| BTW | By the way. |
| B&B | bed and breakfast |
| BWTHDIK | But what the heck do I know...? |
| approx. | approximately |
| cc | carbon copy |
| CD | cash discount |
| CCTV | Closed circuit television |
| CEO | Chief Executive Officer |
| CET | Central European Time |
| CFO | Chief Financial Officer |
| CFR | costs and freight |
| CIF | cost, insurance and freight |
| CST | Central Standard Time |
| c/o | care of |
| co. | company |
| COD | cash on delivery |
| COO | Chief Operating Officer |
| correct | corresponding |
| CPI | Consumer Price Index |
| ct | cent |
| CUL | See you later. |
| CV | curriculum vitae |
| CWO | cash with order |
| CYO | See you online. |
| C/N | credit note |
| i.e. | died died in |
| THERE | District Attorney/td> |
| Dept. | department |
| DDP | delivery duty paid |
| DDU | Delivery duty unpaid |
| DN | debit note |
| DIKU | Do I know you. |
| to you. | director |
| DIY | DIY. |
| DOB | Date of Birth |
| DQMOT | Don't quote me on this. |
| eg | example gratia; For example |
| edit | edition |
| incl. | enclosed |
| EOM | end of message |
| EOT | end of thread |
| esp. | especially |
| Esq. | esquire |
| EST | Eastern standard time |
| Est. | established |
| ETA | Estimated Time of Arrival |
| Etc. | et cetera |
| excluding | excluding |
| external | extension |
| EXW | exworks |
| F2F | face to face |
| FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions |
| figure | figure |
| FISH | First in, still here. |
| FMTYEWTK | Far more than you ever wanted to know. |
| follow | following |
| shape. | formerly |
| FTW | For the win. |
| FYEO | For your eyes only. |
| FYI | For your information. |
| G2G | Got to go. |
| GA | Go ahead. |
| gal. | gallon |
| gene. | general |
| gif | Graphics Interchange Format |
| GMO | Genetically Modified Organism |
| GMT | Greenwich mean time |
| GMTA | Great minds think alike. |
| GOAT | Greatest of all time. |
| GPS | Global positioning system |
| GTRM | Going to read mail. |
| HB | Horsepower |
| MR | Human Resources |
| Mr. | hours |
| hey | height |
| HTH | Hope that helps. |
| yeah | inter alia (among other things) |
| I.A.C | In any case. |
| IANAL | I'm not a lawyer (but)... |
| ie | Id est; In other words |
| ID | Identification |
| I.D.C | I do not care. |
| IDK | I do not know. |
| IKR | I know, right. |
| ILY | Ich liebe dich. |
| IMO | In my opinion. |
| IMHO | In my humble opinion. |
| inc | incorporated |
| including | including |
| in prep. | in preparation |
| IOU | I owe you. |
| IOW | In other words. |
| IQ | Intelligence Quotient |
| IRL | In real life. |
| IYSWIM | If you see what I mean. |
| JIC | Just in case. |
| JK | Just kidding. |
| jr | Junior |
| K | thousand |
| KISS | Keep it simple stupid. |
| KOTC | Kiss on the cheek. |
| L8R | later |
| pounds | pounds |
| LMAO | Laughing my ass off. |
| lol | Laughing out loud. |
| ltd | limited |
| LULAB/S | Love you like a brother/sister. |
| MA | Masters of Arts |
| MBA | Master of Business Administration |
| md | Medical Doctor |
| mill. | million |
| MMO | Massively multiplayer online |
| MorF | Male or female? |
| mph | miles per hour |
| mr | mister |
| mrs | mistress |
| Ms. | Miss |
| Mt. | mount |
| mth. / monthly | month / month |
| MUSM | Miss you so much. |
| MVP | Most Valuable Player or Minimum Viable Product |
| N / A | Not Applicable |
| nope | necessary |
| NM | not much |
| No. | number |
| NP | No problem. |
| NRN | No response necessary. |
| NSFW | Not safe for work. |
| OBO | or best offer |
| off | official |
| OMG | oh my god |
| OOO | out of office |
| OOTD | Offer / outfit of the day |
| OT | Off topic |
| OTOH | On the other hand. |
| oz. | ounces |
| p. | page |
| PANS | Pretty awesome new stuff. |
| para. | paragraph |
| DAP | Post A picture. |
| Ph.D | Philosophiae Doctor; Doctorate of Philosophy |
| p.m | post meridiem; after noon |
| p.m | Private message |
| possibly | possible |
| pov | point of view |
| ::POOF:: | Goodbye (leaving the room) |
| PR | public relations |
| hp | post Scriptum |
| PST | Pacific Standard Time |
| PTO | Please turn over. |
| recd. | received |
| ret. | retired |
| RIP | Requiescat in pace; rest in peace |
| RL | real life |
| ROFL | Rolling on the floor laughing. |
| ROI | return on investment |
| RRP | Recommended Retail Price |
| RSN | Really soon now. |
| RSVP | Répondez S'il Vous Plaît; Please respond. |
| RUOK | Are you okay? |
| R&D | Research & Development |
| SMH | Shaking my head. |
| so | someone |
| sth. | something |
| SOS | Save our souls. |
| sir | Senior |
| SSN | Social Security Number |
| st | Street |
| st | Saint |
| STW | Search the web. |
| SUV | Sports Utility Vehicle |
| TAFN | That's all for now. |
| TBA | To be announced. |
| TB | To be continued / To be confirmed. |
| TBD | To be defined. |
| TBH | To be honest. |
| phone | phone |
| TGIF | Thanks god it's friday. |
| THX | thanks |
| TM | trademark |
| TMI | Too much information. |
| TOS | Terms of Service |
| TTT | Thought that too. |
| TTYL | Talk to you later. |
| do | Thank you. |
| usu. | usually |
| UW | You're welcome. |
| VAT | Value added tax |
| V.I.P | Very Important Person |
| vs | vs |
| Where | without |
| WDALYIC | Who died and left you in charge? |
| WFM | Works for me. |
| WIBNI | Wouldn't it be nice if.. |
| WTF | What the fuck. |
| WUF | Where are you from? |
| UW | You're welcome. |
| XOXO | Hugs and kisses. |
| yd. | yard |
| YOLO | You only live once. |
| ZIP code | Zone Improvement Plan |
| ZZZ | Sleeping, tired or bored. |
