acronym
/ˈækɹənɪm/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.38 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An abbreviation formed by the initial letters of other words.
noun
An abbreviation formed by the initial letters of other words.
noun
An abbreviation formed by the beginning letters or syllables of other words; this sense includes syllabic abbreviations such as Benelux and satnav.
verb
To form into an acronym.
Example Sentences
- "Pee-gee-enn. It's an acronym, that's what it is. That's what they call words made up of initials."
- "Some teachers festoon every spare inch of wall with vocabulary choices or maths techniques to use, which look great at first, but to some children might appear quite daunting. You'll probably see unfamiliar acronyms such as Walt (We Are Learning To). Be sure to ask what they stand for and how they are used in practice."
- "Traders have reportedly come up with the acronym TACO, which stands for “Trump always chickens out,” to take advantage of the trade environment created by the president’s habit of threatening to impose tariffs on countries, and then backing off at the last moment."
- "Acronyms or telescoped names like nabisco from National Biscuit Company."
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *h₂eḱ-, ἄκρον
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈækɹənɪm/
- British English: /ˈækɹənɪm/
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
nested acronym
orphan acronym
pseudo-acronym
recursive acronym
redundant acronym syndrome
non-acronymous
English acronyms
Acronyms by language
Frequently Paired Words
acronymisation
acronymization
anacronymic
nonacronymous
non-acronymous
orphan acronym
pseudo-acronym
initialism