Note that such words are divided into informal and formal. Of course, it is much better if the full form of these words is used in official texts. If you want to use an acronym or headword, you have to provide the full form of the word at least once, because an acronym may have several meanings and some people may not know the meaning of the acronym and the headword. In this article, we will teach you the most used English acronyms so that you can join us at the end of this article.
Standard Abbreviations in English
are not => aren’t
cannot => can’t
could not => couldn’t
could have => could’ve
did not => didn’t
does not => does not
do not => don’t
ever => e’er
had not => hadn’t
has not => hasn’t
have not => haven’t
he had; he would => he’d
he will; he shall => he’ll
he is; he has => he’s
I had; I would => I’d
I will; I shall => I’ll
I am => I’m
I have => I’ve
is not => isn’t
it would => it’d
it shall; it will => it’ll
it is; it has => it
let us => let’s
madam => ma’am
might not => mightn’t
might have => might’ve
must not => mustn’t
must have => must’ve
and => ‘n’
need not => needn’t
never => ne’er
over => o’er
old => ol ’
ought not => oughtn’t
shall not => shan’t
she had; she would => she’d
she will; she shall => she’ll
she is; she has => she’s
should not => shouldn’t
should have => should’ve
that would => that’d
that is; that has => that’s
there had; there would => there’d
there shall; there will => there’ll
there has; there is => there’s
they had; they would => they’d
they will; they shall => they’ll
they are => they’re
they have => they’ve
it was => ’twas
was not => wasn’t
we had; we would => we’d
we will => we’ll
we are => we’re
we have => we’ve
were not => weren’t
what will; what shall => what’ll
what are => what’re
what is; what has; what does => what’s
what have => what’ve
where did => where’d
where is; where has => where’s
where is; where has => where’s
who had; who would => who’d
who will; who shall => who’ll
who is; who has => who’s
who have => who’ve
why did => why’d
will not => won’t
would not => wouldn’t
would have => would’ve
you had; you would => you’d
you will; you shall => you’ll
you are => you’re
you have => you’ve
Abbreviations for time and date
The following English abbreviations refer to time and date:
Jan => stands for January meaning the month of January
Feb => stands for February meaning the month of February
Mar => stands for March meaning the month of March
Apr => stands for April meaning the month of April
May => stands for May meaning the month of May
Jul => stands for June meaning the month of July
Abbreviation for July means January
Aug => stands for August meaning the month of August
Sep => stands for September meaning the month of September
Oct => Abbreviation for October means October
Nov => stands for November meaning the month of November
Dec => Abbreviation for December means December
a.m => stands for Ante Meridian meaning before noon
p.m => Abbreviation for Post meridian meaning afternoon
Hrs => Abbreviation for Hours meaning hour (s)
Location acronyms
U.S. => United States => United States
U.K. => United Kingdom => Great Britain
E.U. => European Union => European Union
U.A.E. => United Arab Emirates => United Arab Emirates
The most commonly used English acronyms
Commonly used abbreviations in English
IQ => Intelligence Quotient => IQ
ID => Identification => ID card
CD => Compact Disc => CD
DVD => Digital Video-Disc / Digital Versatile Disc => DVD
PhD => Doctor of philosophy => PhD degree
ISO => International Organisation for Standardisation => ISO – World Organisation for Standardisation
ICU => Intensive Care Unit => Intensive Care Unit
AIDS => Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome => AIDS – A syndrome that destroys the body’s defences
ISBN => International Standard Book Number => International Standard Book Number
OPEC => Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries => OPEC – Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries
<= TOEFL => Test of English as a Foreign Language Test TOEFL
IELTS => International English Language Testing System => IELTS test
UNESCO => United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation => UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
UNICEF => United Nations Children’s Fund / United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund => UNICEF – United Nations Emergency Fund for Children
PIN => Personal Identification Number => Personal Identification Number
