acronym
[ ak-ruh-nim ]
/ ˈæk rə nɪm /
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noun
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.
a set of initials representing a name, organization, or the like, with each letter pronounced separately; an initialism.
an acrostic.
verb (used with object)
to make an acronym of: The committee's name has been acronymed MIKE.
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Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?
grammar notes for acronym
See abbreviation.
OTHER WORDS FROM acronym
ac·ro·nym·ic, a·cron·y·mous [uh-kron-uh-muhs], /əˈkrɒn ə məs/, adjectiveac·ro·nym·i·cal·ly, adverbWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH acronym
abbreviation, acronym , initialismDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for acronym
British Dictionary definitions for acronym
acronym
/ (ˈækrənɪm) /
noun
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
Derived forms of acronym
acronymic or acronymous (əˈkrɒnɪməs), adjectiveWord Origin for acronym
C20: from acro- + -onym
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
acronym
[ (ak-ruh-nim) ]
A word formed by combining the beginning letters of a name or phrase, as in WASP for white Anglo-Saxon Protestant, or by combining the initial syllables of a series of words, as in radar, which stands for radio detecting and ranging.
notes for acronym
Acronyms are often less clumsy than the complete expressions they represent and are easier to write and remember.
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.