• EM |
• Articles |
• Style |
• Abbreviations

Acronym vs. Abbreviation

Neha Karve

Updated October 26, 2023

An acronym is an abbreviation pronounced as a single word (e.g., NATO, UNICEF, laser). But not every abbreviation is an acronym: an abbreviation could also be an initialism, in which the letters are individually pronounced (USA, ATM, CEO, DNA), a contraction (Dr., Jr., St.), or other shortened form (Inc., Corp., Jan.).

Words formed using the initial letters of the words in a term are acronyms. Here are some more examples.

Overlap in meaning

In everyday usage, the word acronym has come to mean the same as abbreviation, and the two words are often used interchangeably. This overlap in meaning is reflected in modified dictionary definitions: Merriam-Webster now lists the meaning of acronym not only as a word made using the initial letters of a term but also as any abbreviation, including an initialism. In contrast, the OED, for now, retains the distinction between acronym and abbreviation.

We discuss below how acronyms are treated differently from other abbreviations in edited text, and why it is still useful for editors and writers to distinguish between the two.

Acronyms vs. other abbreviations at start of sentence

An abbreviation is not generally used to start a sentence in academic and other formal writing. We use the full form instead, or rephrase. Acronyms however are acceptable in this position.

Use of the definite article the

It is also useful to distinguish between an acronym and an initialism when you intend to use the article the. The definite article the is not generally used before a proper noun that is an acronym (even if it would be used before the full form) but is used before an initialism.

Note how if the full form were used instead of the acronym, the article the would still be used, but once the term becomes an acronym and is pronounced as a word, the definite article disappears, as it would before another proper-noun word.

Differences in capitalization

Capitalization may also differ. In British usage, acronyms are often written as words, with proper nouns retaining only the initial capital letter. Not so with initialisms, where all the letters of the term must be capitalized.

Even in non-British usage, acronyms that are five letters or longer generally lose their capitalization, although those that are proper nouns retain the initial capital letter. For example, COVID may be written with capital or lowercase letters—COVID, Covid, or even covid—per Merriam-Webster. Initialisms, unlike acronyms, stay capitalized—for example, AIDS or Aids, but HIV, not Hiv.

Acronyms as words

Acronyms can even sometimes turn into words in their own right (none of the letters capitalized), with people forgetting they were ever abbreviations.

Go ahead and look up the origins of the words fubar and snafu in the dictionary.