acronym
a word formed from the initial letters or groups of letters of words in a set phrase or series of words and pronounced as a separate word, as Wac from Women's Army Corps,OPEC from Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or loran from long-range navigation.
an acrostic.
to make an acronym of: The committee's name has been acronymed MIKE.
Origin of acronym
1Grammar notes for acronym
Other words from acronym
- ac·ro·nym·ic, a·cron·y·mous [uh-kron-uh-muhs], /əˈkrɒn ə məs/, adjective
- ac·ro·nym·i·cal·ly, adverb
Words that may be confused with acronym
- abbreviation, acronym , initialism
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use acronym in a sentence
Elections make sense; central-bank announcements replete with jargon, arcane policies, and acronyms do not stir souls.
Mario Draghi May Become the Man Who Saved Europe—and the World | Zachary Karabell | September 7, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Liberian civil conflict was a bewildering alphabet soup of acronyms, each a rebel group led by a warlord.
Liberian Nostalgia for War Criminal Charles Taylor | Finlay Young | April 28, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThe men had all sorts of lingo and acronyms that they used to review the services of the women they procured erotic services from.
One of the acronyms spawned by the Internet is IANAL, which stands for “I am not a lawyer.”
The “business model” of the new piracy marries low cunning with an alphabet of high-tech acronyms.
It is not easy to find a path in the jungle of acronyms, which sprouted in the wake of the formation of the IMF.
After the Rain | Sam VakninHidden behind a jungle of acronyms, an unprecedented system of international finance evolves relentlessly.
After the Rain | Sam VakninThe use of abbreviations, acronyms, and foreign terms has been held to a minimum.
Area Handbook for Bulgaria | Eugene K. Keefe, Violeta D. Baluyut, William Giloane, Anne K. Long, James M. Moore, and Neda A. Walpole
British Dictionary definitions for acronym
/ (ˈækrənɪm) /
a pronounceable name made up of a series of initial letters or parts of words; for example, UNESCO for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
Origin of acronym
1Derived forms of acronym
- acronymic or acronymous (əˈkrɒnɪməs), adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for acronym
[ (ak-ruh-nim) ]
Notes for acronym
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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