Definition of acronym in English:

acronym

Pronunciation /ˈakrəˌnim/ /ˈækrəˌnɪm/

noun

  • An abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word (e.g. ASCII, NASA).

    • ‘A whole language of abbreviated words and acronyms has developed with the huge popularity of the text message.’
    • ‘There were also plenty of acronyms whose definitions were not just different versions of the same term.’
    • ‘It's now perfectly acceptable to lowercase a company name, for example, and to create words out of acronyms.’
    • ‘I would like future writers to create new compound words and acronyms.’
    • ‘A list of abbreviations, acronyms, and symbols that should not be used also should be available.’
    • ‘Although I'm heartily sick of three letter acronyms, NBA sounds impressive.’
    • ‘An SKU, for those uninitiated in Intel three letter acronyms, is a stock keeping unit.’
    • ‘I've reduced this heavy string of words to its acronym because it has a pleasing Latin sound and neatly wraps the whole shebang in one small package.’
    • ‘In some cases the letters S-U-M-O are an acronym for something else altogether.’
    • ‘The word laser is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.’
    • ‘Finally we reach the last letter in the acronym, which is ‘T’ for transformation.’
    • ‘Take the first letter of each concept, and make a fun acronym out of the letters.’
    • ‘It is tempting to build in successive layers of meaning and symbols that derive from acronyms.’
    • ‘In official language, this occurs through the use of technical terms - acronyms and jargon.’
    • ‘It's generally accepted that you can use acronyms and abbreviations without explanation, where the term is well known by the audience.’
    • ‘It has a glossary of acronyms, 2 pages of hints and tips and a step by step guide to using the computer software.’
    • ‘Abbreviations and acronyms should be employed in a variety of forms.’
    • ‘IT departments became very male places, and the techies traded acronyms and buzzwords to determine their position in the hierarchy.’
    • ‘The glossary is especially beneficial in the era of ever-increasing medical terms and acronyms.’
    • ‘Business Link says the ICT marketplace is full of confusing acronyms, terms and ever-changing technologies.’
    shortened form, short form, contraction, elision, acronym, initialism, symbol, diminutive

Origin

1940s from Greek akron ‘end, tip’+ -onym.

Pronunciation

acronym

/ˈakrəˌnim/ /ˈækrəˌnɪm/