acronym
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acronym
- /ˈækɹənɪm/ Australia, UK
- /ˈækɹəˌnɪm/ Canada, US
- /ˈɛkɹənəm/ New Zealand
Rhymes with -ækɹənɪm
Where it comes from
Borrowed from German Akronym (from Ancient Greek ἄκρον (ákron, “end; peak”) + ὄνυμα (ónuma, “name”)), modelled after Homonym and Synonym, first attested in German in the early 1900s and in English in 1940. By surface analysis, acro- (prefix meaning ‘beginning; high’) + -onym (suffix meaning ‘name’)
noun acronyms
- Generally such abbreviations, including those pronounced as individual letters (initialisms such as "TNT"). Pee-gee-enn. It's an acronym, that's what it is. That's what they call words made up of initials.
- Exclusively such abbreviations when pronounced as a word (as "laser" or "NATO"). 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 a
- An abbreviation formed by the beginning letters or syllables of other words; this sense includes syllabic abbreviations such as Benelux and satnav. Acronyms or telescoped names like nabisco from National Biscuit Company.
verb acronyms · acronyming · acronymming · acronymed · acronymmed
- To form into an acronym.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: symbol, abbreviation, letter, legend, logo, term, shortcut, stamp, abbreviations, initialism, anacronym, acronymy, pseudo-acronym, alphabetism, abbreviature, initials
Translations
Every language
noun any abbreviation formed by initial letters
| Español | sigla |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 두문자어 dumunja'eo |
| 中文 | 首字母縮略詞 /首字母缩略词 shǒuzìmǔ suōlüècí |
| Kiswahili | akronimu |
| Português | sigla, acrônimo |
| Français | sigle |
| Italiano | sigla |
| Ελληνικά | αρκτικόλεξο arktikólexo |
| العربية | اِخْتِصَار iḵtiṣār |
noun word formed by initial letters
| Español | acrónimo, sigla |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 약어 yageo, 두문자어 dumunja'eo |
| 日本語 | 頭字語 tōjigo, アクロニム akuronimu, 略語 ryakugo |
| 中文 | 縮寫 /缩写 suōxiě, 縮略詞 /缩略词 suōlüècí, 略語 /略语 lüèyǔ |
| Português | acrograma |
| Français | acronyme |
| Deutsch | Akronym |
| Italiano | acronimo |
| Ελληνικά | ακρώνυμο akrónymo, ακρωνύμιο akronýmio |
| Română | acronim |
| Русский | акро́ним akrónim, сокраще́ние sokraščénije |
| العربية | اِخْتِصَار iḵtiṣār |
| עברית | ראשי תיבות rashéi teivót |
Talk about this word "acronym." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/acronym. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. acronym. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/acronym "acronym." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/acronym.Cite this
@misc{acronym_2026,
title = {acronym},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/acronym},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
